


The Promise

by sinkhole



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon), 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Castlevania Series
Genre: Blood Drinking, Explicit Sex, F/M, Feelings, M/M, Trevor's language, bit of monster kink, cannon level gore, my language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-10-01 17:51:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17248727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinkhole/pseuds/sinkhole
Summary: A desperate deal is made and the consequences are far reaching.Events force Trevor to evaluate his thoughts on fate and his relationships with Sypha and one half-vampire.





	1. Dissonance

**Author's Note:**

> The rating is for later in the story so if it isn't your thing, please don't read or if it is your thing, you'll have to wait a bit.

Trevor knew he was dead and yet the pain was unbearable.

Just like in life, his death was shit, saddled as he was with an unrelenting ghost pain that radiated out from his stomach in thousands of knifeblade waves, increasing in magnitude. He would be vomiting, purging everything from the agony of it had he been alive. The pain intensified beyond conceivable levels of tolerance, annihilating him and then dragging his consciousness back into the black.

A gruff voice intruded on the dark silence surrounding Trevor and brought his agony back into horrific focus. The voice debated the merits of leeches versus maggots before drifting away as though Trevor were moving and he didn’t hear which was the superior method. He drifted in the darkness for some time before a different voice, grating and nasal, recommended bloodletting. There was shouting somewhere nearby. Sypha? Yes, thought Trevor, that was Sypha alright, clearly not liking what she was hearing. He would have laughed if he could have.

The next time he was conscious of being conscious, a scant bit of clarity had returned and now it wasn’t so dark although he knew he wasn’t fully awake.  The pain, he thought hopefully, had ebbed a little but Trevor quickly realized that his brain had just been slow to process what he was feeling as it clamped down on him, jolting him into a fresh bout of agony. He couldn’t even conceive of this kind of suffering – it was beyond any level of comprehension. He was starting not to be able to tell if it was actually pain anymore – he couldn’t separate himself from it. He became aware of his breathing; puffs of shallow breath to try and deal with it although it didn’t help at all.

He dreamed or remembered, he wasn’t sure, of being with Sypha in the market square at Oraden, their latest job. He was watching her raise her arms in victory, turning away from him, her robes swirling around her slender ankles, her silhouette limned by light from the small fires which still burned all around them. He recalled then wondering how she was able to wear sandals in the winter. He couldn’t understand her penchant for inappropriate footwear. He liked his own feet to be reasonably warm and sweaty in the winter, like any normal person would.

Something had been wrong though, niggling at the back of his thoughts and moving to the forefront as he regarded the demon bodies strewn lifelessly around them. Five, six…that’s how many they had killed together this round, he was sure of it unless Sypha had got one he hadn’t seen.

There were seven corpses.

With an intensifying feeling of dread, Trevor moved towards her just as the largest demon body came to life, wings unfolding quickly, heaving its considerable bulk up to its full size before striking out with its talons. The clever creature had been lying in wait, playing dead. Trevor had shouted at Sypha’s back and running, had thrown himself in between her and the demon, dodging its talons as the monster swung 180 degrees, shifting its focus to him. He had slashed at its throat with his longsword and brought it down by looping the Morningstar around its neck and pulling so tightly, the head had popped off in an explosive shower of inky gore.

“Oops, guess we missed one,” Sypha had tried to say lightly from behind him, her voice strained from the close call. He had started to chuckle but instead, found himself falling to his knees, instinctively clutching at the intense pain blooming in his stomach. He had looked down and seen that his tunic was ripped apart and soaked with blood. With dumb shock, he could see guts, his own guts, and he was holding them in place. Struggling with consciousness, Trevor fell the rest of the way to the ground. He became aware of the cool cobblestone pressing against his cheek, Sypha frantically calling his name, calling for help, and the pain, the excruciating pain that became so overwhelming it mercifully claimed his tenuous hold on consciousness.

Beige. Trevor realized his eyes were open and he was staring at a lime plastered ceiling.  He tried to say something but his throat and mouth weren’t working. He must have made a sound though as he could hear rustling and Sypha came into view, hovering above him.

“Trevor! Oh Trevor! “

He felt her warm hands delicately cradling his face, stroking his hair, his brow.  He tried to smile but his muscles were stiff and his lips cracked. It was nice to feel her touch, except for the torment he was experiencing, making it impossible to focus on anything else. Not dead then. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed but he wanted it to be over, either way. He blacked out again.

The heat brought him back to reality the next time. He was on fire, covered in sweat and he was being eaten alive. Someone was shouting. He realised it was him.

Sypha was applying cold, damp towels to his chest and forehead. There was another person in the room, a woman speaking with Sypha, but it all sounded so distant. He couldn’t comprehend anything but pain.

Later he tried to speak and after a few attempts managed to get the words out he’d been trying to say earlier, that day? Yesterday? He didn’t know.

“Sypha,” he said with haggard effort.

“Trevor,” she said in a hushed, careful voice as though to sooth him.

“End it. “

“Oh,” she gasped, horrified. “Trevor, no, please don’t say that. I can’t do that.”

“Please,” he whispered, voice strained and hoarse. “It’s torture. End it.”

“I just need a bit more time. I have one more idea. Just hang on a little longer. Please,” Sypha begged, clasping his face.

“I can’t take it,” Trevor gasped, breaking down, grimacing, as tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. He was then dragged back into unconsciousness, taking with him the image of Sypha’s frightened face as she tried to hold on to him with everything she could.

Trevor became aware that he was drifting weightlessly in the darkness. There was no sensory input of any kind, beyond the pulsing wound. It was so quiet. The lack of anything to identify had Trevor imagining that the darkness started to press upon him, slowly squeezing and pushing at his body, trying to embed itself in him or force him to take up less space. He struggled to breathe deeply but then gave up on that because it hurt like hell. He had no concept of time but it felt like hours or days might have passed before he heard a sound. At first it was barely detectable – a soft sibilant sound, far in the distance. Trevor strained to hear it and wasn’t sure if he was imagining things until it seemed to draw closer. The susurrations formed patterns that Trevor couldn’t recognize but the patterns seemed to be repeated over and over. He tried to identify the voice but it was genderless and he wasn’t sure it was even a human voice or that it spoke a language. This went on for some time, the whispers drawing steadily closer until he could feel the wind from their breath touching his body, could feel the energy between his skin and another’s presence, as though someone or something was hovering all around him, enveloping him.  The energy moved along his skin starting from his fingers and toes, leaving trails of an artificially cool sensation as though he had been rubbed with mint oil where it had passed. It was simultaneously pleasing and concerning, as the trails cooled yet stimulated his skin and muscles as they slowly drew towards his middle.  Trevor gasped as it reached his groin and breast, seemingly releasing a tingling charge of pleasure at odds with his current situation. He didn’t resist however and let himself be caressed, at least that is how it felt, while anticipating what might happen when the energy reached his stomach. When it did, Trevor cried with relief as he felt the cooling quality of the energy flow into his wound and pool there, increasing in intensity and providing a wonderful numbing sensation that eased his pain.

Trevor surfaced from such deep bliss when he felt the breath again, ruffling his hair and touching his skin all over his body. It was gentle and comforting and somehow familiar the way an adult might recall motherly caresses received as a child, until it picked up in intensity and he slowly realized that it was actually wind buffeting him. With a panic he became aware that he was falling. Trevor felt the gravity return to weigh down his body as his decent seemed to pick up speed, the wind now whipping his hair and lashing at his skin. The wind spoke the repeating patterns from earlier but now it was pressing into his eardrums with such intensity as to be on the threshold of unbearable. He felt as though he was also spinning, his senses starting to be taxed to the breaking point just as the blackness around him once again pressed hard into his body as though to obliterate him and obliterate him it did.

 

Trevor awoke with a start. His eyes stared at the beige ceiling until he came to his senses. He took stock of what he was feeling. Calm, as though nothing had happened. His heart rate was steady and he felt comfortable. He tried to move a little. He slightly shifted this way and that.  He raised his head and looked down his body to see he was covered up to the neck in a sheet and thin blanket. Raising the covering he saw his middle was bandaged but so far, he couldn’t feel any of the expected pain. He looked around and took in the room. Daylight filtered through two dirty, small pane windows on both walls near the corner of the room. There was a hearth crackling with a good fire. Sypha dozed, slumped on a chair two feet from his head, holding some cloths that looked ready to spill from her relaxed hands. Trevor took in her pale, almost translucent skin and the dark circles under her eyes. She looked brittle and exhausted.

He pushed down the blanket and sheet and started to sit up, anticipating discomfort but there was none. Trevor gently pushed at his stomach but didn’t feel anything uncomfortable. Just as his brows creased in confusion, Sypha opened her eyes. He watched the transformation her face underwent when she saw he was up– she was alit with joy and he was almost taken aback by the intensity and to be the cause of it.

“Trevor! Oh Trevor, you came back to me,” she said happily as she practically danced around him, not knowing where to put her hands, settling for a few friendly squeezes of his shoulders and resting her hand on his back.

Trevor had to clear his throat to get it working again. “What happened?” Indicting his midsection, he said, “This doesn’t fit with what I remember.”

Trevor saw Sypha’s eyes widen momentarily, she had looked afraid, but it was gone in a flash.

“You healed, Trevor,” she replied simply, beaming at him again. “You really did come back from the dead.”

“How long was I out?’ Trevor asked when he saw no more information was forthcoming.

“Thirteen days.” Sypha reached out to stroke his cheek and then pet his hair. “We are fortunate to be in a town with doctors and innkeepers.”

Trevor nodded, trying to process the length of time.

“Thank you Sypha,” he said a bit hoarsely as he put his hands on her waist.  They rested their foreheads against each other, staying like that for some time, Sypha absentmindedly stroking his hair.

Presently she disengaged and exclaimed, “You must be hungry for proper food! No more weak dishwater broth. That alone would kill anybody. I’ll go ask the innkeeper about dinner,” she said with a smile while squeezing his shoulders again. Sypha was out the door a moment later, her footsteps thumping down the stairs until Trevor couldn’t hear them anymore.

He slowly shifted his weight to his feet and cautiously got up but he needn’t have been careful. He wasn’t feeling weak or dizzy or compromised in any way. Trevor realized that he actually felt better than he could ever remember. No telltale sign of a hangover or nausea or that feeling of gut rot that was ever-present from a combination of poor food, not enough sleep and too much ale.

He looked down at his bandages and finding a tucked end, started to unwrap them, looping the freed end loosely around his hand. As his stomach was slowly revealed, Trevor just stared at it uncomprehendingly. The scar was long and wide as he expected, but it was fairly flat and pink - not raised and red as a two week old scar should be. He’d received enough of them to know what the healing process looked like. He pressed at it and felt no discomfort whatsoever. Finishing with the bandage, Trevor put it on the bed and spying his bag on a trunk near the window, made his way over. He reached down and first unbuckling the bag, pulled out a small, flat box of polished metal, bringing it up to his face so he could see his reflection. Trevor was shocked to see he also _looked_ better, healthier, than he could remember. Bringing the box lower, Trevor further examined the scar via its reflection, following its contours. It just didn’t make sense if only thirteen days had passed and he started to consider that Sypha might be omitting some details, unless there had been some new development in medicinal balm he’d not heard of.  But even then, accelerating the healing on a scar didn’t explain how he survived the wound in the first place. From what he remembered of it, that wasn’t something you could come back from no matter how many maggots and sutures you threw at it.

Putting the box back into the bag, Trevor yelped with pain as his hand made contact with something in there. He looked down into the bag and saw the cold metal glint of his Morningstar. He reached in, grabbing for it and once again quickly withdrew his arm due to the searing pain he received when he had touched it. With a sickened feeling, Trevor turned the bag upside down and dumped the contents onto the floor.  Squatting down, he reached out with his finger and lightly bumped one of the chain’s links, quickly breaking contact after confirming a painful jolt. His brow creased in anger as he raised his head and looked around the room. He found the consecrated whip looped and hanging from the back of a chair. Rising, Trevor went to it and poked it, confirming the same burning sensation.

When Sypha returned, bumping the door open with her hip and balancing a tray with two steaming bowls and a heel of fresh bread, Trevor was seated at the table.

“Lamb stew! And it smells really… good,” Sypha’s excitement dying on her lips at seeing Trevor’s expression.

He was giving her a truly dark look, but saying nothing.

“Trevor?” Sypha asked cautiously as she put the tray down on the table.

“What happened? Are you in pain?”

“What did you do Sypha?” asked Trevor in an edged voice.

Trevor watched her eyes widen, this time definitely in fear. She didn’t reply however, seemingly paralyzed except for her hands which were now so tightly clasped together, her knuckles turned white.

“What was done to me?” he pressed, voice rising.

“Why do you ask that Trevor?” Sypha asked carefully.

Trevor‘s gaze hardened.

“Because I shouldn’t be alive, yet I am. The scar shouldn’t be healed, yet it is. And I can’t touch either my whip or the Morningstar because they burn,” he replied with contained anger.

Sypha’s mouth formed a silent ‘o’ of surprise as she processed the last part of what he said.

“I was going to tell you Trevor. I just thought I’d give you a few minutes. You just woke up.”

With effort, Trevor adjusted his expression to be as neutral as possible.

“Go on,” he prompted.

“All the conventional treatments failed so I hired a mage to heal you,” Sypha said, almost managing to sound casual as though this was a commonplace occurrence. “Someone who had the ability to deal with this level of injury.”

“You mean you hired a dark magician,” disbelief colored Trevor’s voice.

“You were slipping away Trevor and I had to try everything,” she said earnestly.

“No, you didn’t.” he retorted angrily. “I remember begging you to let me go. _That_ was what I wanted. There is no fucking bloody way in fucking bloody hell I would have consented to this Sypha.”

She walked up to Trevor and sank to her knees in front of him, grasping his hands in hers.

“Trevor, it was my fault you were injured. You saved me when I let my guard down. You must understand that it is my responsibility to make this right.”

“Somebody gets hurt and dies and your responsibility is to just deal with it, “ Trevor retorted sharply.

“But that’s what I did Trevor. I dealt with it.”

He gave her a frustrated look and then bowed his head and spoke to his lap.

“You know that’s not what I meant. This is really about avoiding burdening your conscience and not what was best for me.”

Sypha didn’t respond for a long moment.

“What if it was me Trevor? What if I had been hurt because of your mistake? Would you just deal with it so easily if there were options?”

Trevor truly considered the question. He was tempted to insist he would but the thought of losing Sypha and by his own actions gave him pause. Trevor found that he wasn’t actually sure it would be so straightforward. Forming meaningful relationships with people certainly did complicate things. He decided to revisit the question later.

“So, what now? I’m one of _them_ for the rest of my life? I’m now my sworn enemy?”

Trevor narrowed his eyes, catching Sypha looking the tiniest bit triumphant that he had skipped her question.  She quickly schooled her expression into something more neutral however and replied, hedging, “Well… not exactly.”

“What do you mean then, exactly?” Trevor said cautiously, suspicious of another surprise.

Sypha shifted slightly.

“The magic isn’t permanent. It would normally weaken over time but that wouldn’t be a good solution here. Your wound and the pain and blood infection would slowly come back. Instead the spell’s duration was assessed pro rata – it won’t last as long but when it finishes it will still be at its full strength.”

Trevor looked up to see Sypha was staring at him, her blue eyes shining with a determined cast. Her grip on his hands grew tighter if that was possible, making Trevor wince inwardly a little.

“We have a year Trevor. We have a full year to figure this out.”

“What do you intend to do?”

“There must be a way to heal you and lift the dark magic. There is always a countermeasure - where black magic takes and feeds on selfishness and destruction, white magic is selfless and heals.  Your current state will have a white magic equivalent. All we have to do is find out what it is. And you Trevor Belmont,” said Sypha brightly while poking him in the chest, “have the best researcher in all of Wallachia at your disposal.”

“And the best library I suppose,” Trevor said.

Going back to his ancestral home wasn’t an appealing prospect right now but Sypha was right. If any place was going to have the knowledge she sought, the Belmont collection was it. And in all honesty, he’d rather live beyond the year given him if it was possible.

“It might be a long trip,” he said, calculating the days in his head. “Two weeks in good weather if the ground is frozen but much more if it snows heavily or is too muddy. Maybe three weeks or more. The wheels are in good shape though. Should be able to handle it.”

“I sold the wagon.”

“What.”

“To pay for the inn.”

“Why didn’t you use the _actual_ money?”

“I used that to pay the doctors.”

“Do we still have a horse?”

“We do.”

“Well, at least there’s that. Sorry, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful Sypha. This is all just a fucking lot to take in.”

Patting him on his hands, Sypha rose from her position at Trevor’s knees and reached for the tray on the table. She set a bowl of the lamb stew in front of Trevor and pulled out a chair for herself.

“When do you think you would like to go?” she asked, sliding the other bowl in front of herself and starting to eat.

“Day after tomorrow? You look as though you could use some sleep,” Trevor said the last part softly.

“I have the rest of my life to sleep, after we sort this out. I’m ready to go as soon as possible.”

“Okay, tomorrow then. I’ll need to find a replacement for my whip before we leave though.”

Trevor finally took a mouthful of the stew and found it to his liking.

“Do we have _any_ money?” he asked.

“From that last job – it’ll be enough.”

Trevor watched her calculatingly. All their assets had been accounted for so that left just one thing.

“How did you pay the necromancer?” he asked, keeping his tone neutral.

He saw Sypha stiffen and stare resolutely into her stew so it was with no great surprise that Trevor felt dread settling in his stomach as he watched her react to his question.

“Sypha, what did you give him?” he asked quietly.

She turned to face Trevor but he couldn’t read her expression.

“My magic.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.


	2. Ravaged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sypha and Trevor journey back to Dracula's Castle and the Belmont Keep and... it is eventful.

 

The day their journey began, the January air was brisk but dry and the skies were clear.

Sypha bought provisions that would travel well and Trevor had stocked up on weapons. He had come back from the blacksmith and fletcher with a pike, an axe and a crossbow but had not been able to find a whip to replace the consecrated one.

Earlier, while Sypha slept, Trevor had spent the night coming to terms with what had happened. He had decided he couldn’t stay angry about the situation. Trevor still couldn’t fathom that Sypha had willingly given up her magic, an intrinsic part of her self, for a shot at saving his life. He could understand doing something like that to save her but _he_ certainly didn’t feel like a worthwhile investment. But she had done it and now the only thing to do was not prove her wrong.

He had come to understand from Sypha that magical ability could be transferred if willingly given and taken. He also then understood that without Sypha’s abilities and without the use of the Belmont clan’s weapons, they had only his fighting skills for defense and whatever conventional weaponry they could carry. Sypha had admitted she’d never used a blade and didn’t know how to fight with one. It was a vulnerable position to be in, the countryside still crawling with displaced demons.

Once all their gear was secured onto the horse with Sypha sitting astride it, they started the journey back to the Belmont Hold and Dracula’s Castle, Trevor walking alongside.

“It will be nice to see Alucard again,” said Sypha. “I often wonder how he’s been doing. Truthfully, I feel guilty for not checking on him.”

“He’s an adult. I’m sure he doesn’t need or want our concern,” Trevor replied, wondering why he instantly felt irritated.

“Yes, but that was a traumatic event. And we kind of just left him alone with it.”

“He wanted to be alone with it Sypha – he said he would stay. It’s not like we know him well enough to guess it wasn’t what he _really_ meant.”

“Maybe we didn’t know him for a long time but fulfilling the prophecy formed a bond between us. You don’t go through something like that and go back to being strangers, Trevor,” she admonished.

“He looked fine when we left,” was all Trevor had to offer.

Sypha sighed.

“I just think of him being in that big empty castle, alone with all those memories. It would drive anyone mad.”

“He’s a vampire. You’re projecting your human emotions onto him.”

“Half vampire and don’t tell me they don’t have emotions. We wouldn’t have had to kill his father if vampires were so stoic,” Sypha said with some passion.

Trevor had to acknowledge that was true. The level of grief that Dracula had displayed after the death of his wife had turned to the madness that would have ended the human race.  And now they were discussing Dracula’s son whose mother had been burned at the stake and who committed patricide in order to save that same, ungrateful human race.

Trevor felt a little shame at not having considered Alucard’s future. He had readily taken Alucard’s words at face value, almost like a stranger would have done, relieved to be free of any responsibility. Trevor, of all people, should be able to recognize and identify with that level of grief due to his own tragic family history but he’d spent so many years trying to bury them with alcohol that it just numbed his ability to feel anything deeply. Which had been the whole point.

Thinking back to the day they had parted ways, Trevor recalled Alucard’s expression when he had appeared to casually bequeath him what was left of his family home and Trevor knew he’d at least done one thing right. It made him feel slightly better. He supposed that was what the irritation had been earlier; just another shitty layer of unacknowledged guilt hitting him in the gut.

“Well, we’ll see how he’s doing soon enough,” Trevor said gruffly.

The first week of their journey passed uneventfully enough. They had very little money left and so stayed at an inn just once, only going into villages for supplies and horse feed and otherwise camping near the mostly wooded trail they followed. They hadn’t run into any creatures of the night and the forest seemed peaceful, even at its darkest, leaving Trevor feeling slightly more optimistic about reaching their destination unharmed. They were certainly cold though and missing the ease with which Sypha had once lit their fires.

One night into their second week, after Trevor had finally succeeded at getting a nice fire going and they were settled in front of it heating their dinner, he tried to discuss magic again. He had seen the naked pain in Sypha’s eyes when he had worked on the fire and she thought he wasn’t looking. His clumsy attempt to get her to open up a few days earlier was met with an impenetrable wall of forced cheeriness. He had guessed she didn’t want to share her true feelings about the loss of her magic lest he feel guilty to be the cause of it, and that was ridiculous. He had already been living in a permanent state of guilt just for being alive long before meeting Sypha.

“Sypha, do you think there could be a way to get your magic back?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe,” she replied thoughtfully after some time. “If released, it would have to find its way back to me but I wouldn’t be able to summon it without magic.”

“You mean it could just be out there,” Trevor gestured widely with his arm “wandering the countryside, causing trouble, if it couldn’t find you?”

“Yes, exactly,” she smiled. “The other problem is, it might be compromised. The intent of the magical energy is in some ways shaped by the magician. There’s no telling what my magic might be like after being holed up with a necromancer,” Sypha continued, making a face.

Before leaving Oraden, he had suggested approaching that necromancer for some answers but Sypha wouldn’t even discuss it. She claimed that it would violate the terms of the deal and that is all she would say about it, forcing him to drop the idea.

Trevor was about to respond when a branch cracked somewhere nearby, outside the perimeter of light cast by the fire. He sprang to his feet and grabbed his longsword and the pike.

“Stay close to the fire,” he said in a low voice.

Sypha nodded just as the sound of frozen leaves being crushed underfoot reached them.

“Show yourself!” Trevor bellowed.

The following silence was eerie as he waited, all his senses keyed up, ready to strike. Suddenly, a diminutive demon broke out from the brush and raced towards him. Trevor paused, pike raised, as he watched the marten sized creature run at him but another sound at the edge of the clearing revealed a pair of blue glowing eyes and diverted his attention. Deciding the tiny demon wasn’t as great a threat, he charged towards the large one which was slowly emerging from the brush. In retrospect, Trevor thought, it had been too easy to dispatch. The demon hadn’t attacked or even defended itself. In fact, it had looked surprised to be speared, just before Trevor took its head off with his sword.

A strange choking sound from over by the fire revealed Sypha had both her hands over her mouth and she looked very much like someone trying not to laugh. Trevor simultaneously realized she was looking at him and that he was experiencing an odd sensation at his lower right leg. He glanced down to see the little demon had affixed itself to his calf and seemed to be…humping it. Yes, that was definitely what it was doing, Trevor decided with disgust as he impaled it with the pike and tossed its body off into the bushes.

“Bloody hell. Haven’t seen that before,” he groused as he wiped his blade with some fallen leaves. “I’m glad the assault on my virtue amuses you,” Trevor said flatly seeing Sypha still struggling.

“No, no, that was a masterful removal of a teacup sized horny demon. I’m not laughing, I’m impressed,” she said with a laugh.

“You know it was,” smirked Trevor, coming back to the fire.

They had no more trouble that night but it definitely left Trevor feeling uneasy. He had wondered what the side effects of the dark magic coursing through him would be, aside from not being able to use his weapons. Hopefully inspiring amorous intent in demons wasn’t one of them.

∞

“Fuck me!” Trevor wailed with frustration, not missing the irony of his words as he pried away a demon that had locked its arms around his waist, its eyes rolling into the back of its head in disgusting fashion as it writhed against him. This time Sypha came to his aid and ran it through with the pike, helping Trevor to detach it once it stopped thrusting.

“Oh, that is…that is beyond words,” Sypha gasped as she indicated Trevor’s lower half with her arm while turning her head away.

He was dismayed to find he was covered not only with blood and gore but other excretions he didn’t want to think about. Trevor stomped around for the next twenty minutes drying to scrape it off with various dead leaves and twigs before giving up.

“I am cursed Sypha,” he said moodily. “If it wasn’t the black magic it would just be something else. It’s as though God said fuck you when I was born.”

She regarded him seriously for a moment.

“I don’t see it that way at all. You persistently triumph against all odds Trevor, you do things for others that don’t benefit you and you have integrity. That makes you a hero.”

Shocked at the turn the conversation had taken Trevor ducked his head as his cheeks colored. “You must be drunk,” he mumbled. He was relieved she just let it go at that with no further comment.

Halfway through the following day Sypha confessed she couldn’t feel her feet and it looked to Trevor like it cost her a lot to say so. Despite trying to keep them warm against the horse’s body as she rode, they had practically turned blue. Trevor spent an hour wrapping them in strips of cloth cut from one of their nearly empty storage sacks they kept provisions in. Unfortunately, her sandals wouldn’t fit over the improvised covering so he had to wrap them within, fretting they had no sole covering to keep out the damp, but it would at least help keep out the cold. He insisted that she didn’t take a turn walking.

The next few days were, in the main, uneventful however their rations were getting low, they had spent the last few coins to feed the horse and they were very, very cold.  Then, on the night before they expected to reach the castle, they were beset by demons.

Trevor and Sypha were preparing their bedrolls in the lean-to that Trevor had assembled when the familiar and nightmarish chittering started. At first it was just two voices on either side of the clearing but soon the number had increased and the chorus of voices became a cacophony surrounding the campsite. Trevor grabbed the crossbow and deftly fired off shot after shot with the ranged weapon before the demons had even entered the circle. By the time he was out of bolts, a good number had been silenced. He grabbed his sword while Sypha held the pike and back to back they waited for the remaining demons to strike. When they did emerge from the brush, some charged and were dispatched efficiently but some others behaved in a manner that could only be described as bizarre. While fighting one demon, Trevor watched another moving in the periphery of his vision. It would take a few steps one way and then the other, ducking and bobbing its head while slapping its muscular tale on the ground.

“I fucking can’t believe my life,” Trevor exclaimed when he realized it was a mating dance. All the demons not engaged in the fight were doing some variation of it.

“You’re naturally very charismatic Trevor, that’s the problem,” offered Sypha just before impaling one of the creatures.

Unfortunately, her words proved true because as if by some signal, the remaining demons all rushed Trevor and he was overwhelmed, falling backwards as they covered him. Dropping his sword, he was able to grab one dagger from his boot and another from his belt and from a prone position, set to stabbing the gyrating pile of bodies clinging to him, grateful for once that they weren’t trying to kill him. Meanwhile Sypha had taken up the axe and hacked away at as many as she safely could without risking injury to Trevor. It took a long time and their muscles screamed from exertion but eventually the last creature was taken care of, rolling off Trevor and hitting the ground with a thump, its muscles still spasming in a parody of its last activity.

Exhausted and breathing heavily Sypha and Trevor regarded each other wryly.

“That’s a good look for you,” smirked Trevor.

Both were covered head to toe in gore. It had soaked into their clothing, it dripped from their hair and was splattered on their skin.

“This is disgusting and there isn’t enough water in Wallachia to get us clean, never mind in our canteens!” Sypha exclaimed, wrinkling her nose and flicking her hands to remove some excess gore.

“I think at this point you just have to embrace it.”

Sypha gave him a dark look while trying to remove some blood from her face but succeeding only in smearing it.

“That was some good work with the axe by the way. You are one scary woman Sypha. Especially looking like that,” he chuckled.

She looked fractionally mollified.

Using a washcloth and their drinking water they at least were able to remove the filth from their exposed skin. Deciding to move camp for the night they gathered their things and discovered the horse was gone. It had been tied to the other side of a stand of bushes just a few feet away. There was no trace of it or what might have happened. It was just gone. And then it started to snow.

They just stood there for a few moments appreciating how fucked they were until Trevor turned around and headed back into the camp.

“Trevor? What are you doing?” Sypha had asked, nonplussed.

Trevor had selected a demon corpse and started to skin it expertly with one of his knives. In no time he had a large section of the black hide free and he started to cut several thin strips from it before bisecting the larger piece. He gathered it up and walked over to Sypha, who had moved closer to the fire, watching him.

“Give me your foot.”

“What? No! Trevor, I will not be wearing demon skin on my feet!”

“You have to. That cloth is going to get soaked in the snow and your feet will freeze before we get there. It’s still a long walk.”

Sypha appeared to fight some internal battle but eventually surrendered her foot. Trevor quickly fashioned a makeshift shoe by folding one of the pieces of demon skin around her foot and tying it securely with some of the strips before doing the same to her other foot.

Deciding to get a jump on the snow, they started the last leg of the journey right away. Abandoning most of their gear, they just took the weapons, some necessities and a torch to light the way until the dawn arrived.

Trevor began to recognize some familiar landmarks the next morning which was good because the snow had become quite deep and they were struggling to keep a good pace. By mid afternoon, the trees had started to thin and after a final turn in the path, they walked into a clearing and found themselves standing in front of Dracula’s castle.

The castle rose before them like a pale grey behemoth in the poor visibility, as the falling thick and heavy flakes deadened all sound.

“Never thought I’d be so happy to see Dracula’s fucking castle again,” Trevor said, breaking the stillness.

They walked up to the front door and knocked. They waited for a while and then Trevor pushed on the door and it opened a fraction until he met with resistance. He tried again with Sypha adding her weight and they got the door to open enough so that they could see what was blocking it from opening.

“It’s that battering ram. I remember seeing it before.”

They pushed some more until they were able to squeeze through and get into the great hall.

Despite the daylight, it was dark inside. Some gloomy light filtered through the windows but it didn’t reach very far and both of them needed some time for their eyes to adjust.

“It smells like death,” Sypha whispered.

“Something big definitely died in the walls.”

“Alucard!” Trevor bellowed, his voice echoing. There was only silence in response.

“Maybe he went to sleep,” Sypha whispered.

“This place feels like a gigantic crypt.”

Trevor and Sypha left their gear at the entrance but each held on to a weapon, just in case.

They made their way up the grand staircase and choosing to start with the hallway to the left, methodically checked each room, periodically calling for Alucard.

“It all looks like it did when we left,” Sypha remarked.

With Alucard, they had removed all the bodies from the castle after the battle. This had taken several days, there had been so many. They’d burned them all in the clearing behind the castle. Alucard had insisted he’d clean up the debris though and so they had left it at that.

It didn’t look as though he’d gotten around to it.

Walking over broken glass and masonry, they made their down the halls and up the stairs. There were so many. The place made Trevor incredibly uneasy. It smelled and looked of death and it was bone chilling physically and psychologically.

“We have about an hour of light left,” Trevor said finally.  “We can resume tomorrow but for now, let’s get to the keep. We’ve got to stay somewhere for the night. Maybe it will smell better.”

Sypha nodded her agreement.

They retraced their steps down to the front door and grabbing their gear, went back outside. The entrance to the keep was near the side of the castle and they didn’t have much trouble locating it despite the snow cover. The stone door however was a bitch to move. It took the two of them half an hour of strained pushing to slide it enough to squeeze through. They were then on a stone landing, the light from the entrance revealing very little of what was beyond. 

Trevor then got out his tinderbox and a bit of kindling and worked on getting a flame he could transfer to one of the unused torches on the wall.

Meanwhile Sypha had edged forward carefully to peer down into the hold.

“Trevor!” She said excitedly. “There are stairs! Alucard must have built them. Maybe he is sleeping here?”

Trevor had to admit he felt hopeful and more than a little relieved.

Taking a torch each, they slowly tested the stairs. They looked solid. Simple, narrow rough-hewn wood stairs that were stable and didn’t creak, descended until swallowed up by the blackness of the hold below them. They made their way down, lighting a few of the torches on the wall as they passed to make the going a bit easier.

Reaching the first level, Trevor could see the damage to the railings and bridge was as he remembered but there was no debris. Everything had been cleaned up. Finding a set of stairs at the end of the mezzanine that was intact and perhaps had been rebuilt, they descended easily down onto the main floor.

Here, all the books had been put away, the shelves righted, the broken glass swept up and disposed of. As they explored, Trevor stopped in front of a cabinet with a glass front. He thought it was the one that had housed the vampire skulls but it was empty now. The thought of Alucard making things right made him grin.

Trevor and Sypha split up, combing the hold for any place that could hide a coffin.

Trevor walked by a row of shelves that had a trunk against the far wall. It was the trunk he’d found the Morningstar in. Making his way over he stopped in front of it and had a thought. Grabbing one of its handles, he pulled it off to the side to reveal the hole in the wall it had originally been hidden in. It had been patched however. The opening was reduced in size and had been fully concealed behind the trunk.

Leaning into the hole, Trevor stuck his torch arm in first and then his head. There in the darkness, smooth dark wood gleamed at him in the torchlight.

“Sypha! Found him!”

 

 


	3. Domestic Bliss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trevor attempts to be a worthwhile investment.

 

Handing his torch to Sypha, Trevor reached in and pulled at the coffin to drag it forwards towards the opening.  Of course, it was too big to come through now that it had been patched, so, with a firm grip on the end handle, Trevor yanked it towards himself, _hard_ , breaking the hole open a bit.

“Trevor!” Sypha exclaimed when she saw he was going to do it again.

“All right, all right,” he grumbled, reaching in and ripping off chunks of plaster with his hands instead.

When the opening was large enough, he slid the coffin through it onto the floor of the hold and grabbing hold of the lid, pushed it off to one side.

Alucard opened his eyes to the vision of a gore and blood-spattered Trevor and Sypha hanging over the edges of his casket.

“Miss us?” they said in unison.

“Ah, this was almost worth it,” Trevor said to Sypha. “You should see the expression on your face,” Trevor said, turning back to Alucard.

Alucard’s eyes moved from Trevor to Sypha and back again but otherwise he didn’t say anything for a long few moments. He then turned his gaze back to Sypha. “Didn’t I warn you not to go with him?” he said in a slightly rusty voice. 

“What? How is this,” Trevor indicated their appearance, “exclusively my fault?”

“It’s actually my fault,” offered Sypha.

They stepped back when Alucard started to get up.

“Alucard, I’m so happy to see you and I’d really like to hug you right now but I need to wash. And change into something else that I don’t have because we don’t have anything any more. And eat. Could you help us with any of that?”

“How long did I sleep?”

“It’s mid January.”

“I’m not sure about the eating part but there might be some dry goods in the pantry. Have you been to the castle?”

“Yeah, we spent the afternoon there looking for your sorry ass.”

Alucard narrowed his eyes at Trevor.

“What he means is, we were worried when we couldn’t find you,” explained Sypha.

“Well, let’s go have a look,” Adrian replied, his expression neutral again.

As Sypha shuffled towards the stairs, Alucard’s gaze took in the state of her clothing and hair, the bloody axe strapped to her back and finally rested on her feet.

“Sypha.”

“Yes?”

“What do you have on your feet?”

Sypha didn’t answer.

“The finest demon leather in all of Wallachia!” Trevor supplied cheerfully.

∞

They returned to the castle and the foul smell. It wasn’t so bad upstairs and one could get used to it after a while. Alucard took them to the third floor to an area that hadn’t been touched by the battle with Dracula. It appeared to be guest quarters and there were several rooms with beds and amenities.

Alucard walked into one room and checked the wardrobe.

“There are clean sheets and blankets. You’ll not want to use that bed cover, it looks very dusty.”

“This is beautiful Alucard, thank you,” said Sypha, eyeing the large comfortable looking bed.

“The privy is down the hall as well as the bathing room. I’ll just go see if everything is working.”

Trevor walked back into the hall and chose the room beside Sypha, dropping his bag there. He was lighting a fire in the hearth, not wanting to touch anything else until he was clean, when Alucard returned and stopped at his door, surprise registering on his face for a fleeting moment.

“The bath water is heated,” Alucard was saying just as Sypha joined them. “It’s a technology my father implemented. There’s a tank filled with water that is continuously heated with a flame but it had gone out. You’ll need to wait a bit for it to heat up but in the meantime, if you don’t mind cold water, just turn the spigots over the bathing tub. You’ll see. There’s no need to carry water up here and it can be drained directly from the tub.”

Trevor and Sypha looked suitably impressed.

“There are also towels there and soap. I’ll go find some clothing for you to wear.”

“Thank you Alucard,” said Sypha, resting her hand on his arm. “We really appreciate this.”

He smiled and nodded. “Of course,” he replied and was gone.

“Real beds Trevor!” she said gleefully. “And hot water!” Her eyes shone like he hadn’t seen for some time.

“I’ll go first and take the cold water? No different from usual for me,” he said while walking over to light her fireplace with a burning stick from his.

“Thank you, Trevor. I will gladly wait then.”

It was such a convenience to be able to run the water and rinse, having it disappear into a hole rather than soaking in what would have been gore soup. By the time he had gotten all the blood and dirt off, the running water was starting to get warm so Trevor filled the tub with a few inches of water and gave himself another good scrubbing with a washcloth and rinsed his hair again.

Afterwards, calling out to Sypha that he was done, he entered his room and found a neat stack of clothing on his bed. There were drawstring braes, a couple of woolen tunics and stockings and some linen underclothes in what looked like the right size. It felt like such a luxury to put on something clean and dry, that didn’t smell offensively dirty.

While Sypha was bathing he walked to where he remembered seeing the kitchen from their earlier tour. Lights on the walls similar to the ones he’d seen in the tomb at Gresit lit his way down to the second floor.

He found Alucard there. The kitchen was curiously large and well outfitted, as befitting a castle not run by vampires, with a big hearth, numerous pots and pans hanging from racks, work surfaces and cupboards.

Alucard glanced up when Trevor walked in and then went back to measuring something into a pot. “There isn’t much I’m afraid. Actually, just oats. I can go to the village in the morning.”

“Honestly, I’m sure porridge will taste as good as a steak right now. Thanks, Alucard. We really appreciate this.”

Alucard had moved over to the fire and hung the pot on a chain. Soon the oatmeal was boiling over. He tried stirring and then sighed resignedly. “Actually, I have no idea what I’m doing – I don’t think I’ve got the ratio right.”

“I can do that,” offered Trevor, moving closer. Alucard nodded and set down the spoon moving away quickly to give Trevor room.

Trevor moved the pot off the heat, added some water from the jug Alucard had used and continued stirring before bringing it back over to the fire and hanging it a bit higher. He watched it for a while, stirring occasionally.

“So, you’re not a couple?”

Surprised at Alucard’s forwardness, Trevor replied with a measured, “Not exactly, no.”

“I had thought Sypha had romantic designs on you. She come to her senses then?”

Trevor held back what he really wanted to say and reminded himself that he was being _nice_. Alucard seemed like he was actually waiting for an answer so he decided to reply honestly.

“She believes in that prophecy, the rest of it. Me marrying and producing heirs. Sypha also believes she’ll be my wife, based on her reading of it.”

“That doesn’t sound like a compelling reason _not_ to be a couple.”

“Alucard, just a few months ago I was greeting each day from the ground out back of a pub covered in dried vomit. If I were to do anything serious like marrying and having children, _especially_ with Sypha, I think it would take me a while to get there. If I even could.”

“You don’t have to be a good husband and father to sire some children,” Alucard replied, frowning.

“I would want to be decent at it though. If I was going to make that choice.”

Trevor paused to gather his thoughts about the looming uncertainty in his relationship with Sypha.

“She deserves more than decent, I know this. She’s also content to wait because she believes it will happen regardless and that it’s her destiny.”

“And you don’t?”

“I don’t want to believe our destinies are foretold, no.  I’d rather believe I’ve fucked up my life on my own and not because it was predestined. _Do you have any bowls_?” asked Trevor, eager to change the topic.

Alucard moved from the wall he’d been leaning against to a cupboard and collected three bowls, some spoons and napkins. Setting them down on the kitchen work table, he went to the pantry and returned with a lidded ceramic pot and a jar of preserved fruit. He then brought three chairs that had been lined up against the wall, to the table. There was no question they’d be eating in the kitchen, it was frigid everywhere else.

“This just needs a few more minutes,” said Trevor covering the pot and hanging it on a shorter chain, away from the heat of the fire.

Turning to Alucard, he almost asked how he’d been doing and realized that was an idiotic question. “Why did you go sleep in the hold?”

Alucard didn’t answer right away and was saved from replying when Sypha appeared in the doorway wearing a simple, long green tunic.

“Thank you for the clean clothes Alucard, and that bath was heaven. I’ve never known such luxury. And all the water drained away into a hole!”

She moved towards him and gave him a big hug which Alucard reciprocated. “It’s so good to see you,” she said, looking up at his face and giving him a squeeze before pulling back. “I’m so sorry we didn’t come back sooner. I feel like we really failed you.”

“It’s all right.” He looked a little embarrassed. “It’s fine.”

Trevor interrupted her from saying more by announcing the oatmeal was ready.

Sypha had never tasted sugar before and her child-like wonder over it, examining the crystals on her finger and melting them on her tongue, amused both himself and Alucard.

“I’ll go to the village in the morning. Apart from food, what do you need?”

“Alucard, I’m sorry but we have no money,” said Sypha. “Until we can make some, would it be alright if we owed you?”

“There’s plenty here. I should take stock of it but what I’ve seen will last a long time. You’re welcome to take what you need, no repayment necessary.”

Neither of them could think of anything suitable to say to Alucard’s generosity except thank you.

“So, what happened?” Alucard asked finally.

Sypha recounted how Trevor had received his mortal injury while saving her life, how ill he’d come, almost dying, and then how, in a final, desperate attempt to save him, she’d traded away her magical abilities for his life, his body now held together with necromancy for the period of one year. Fifty weeks actually, if one was being accurate, before the wound would reappear if she didn’t find a solution.

“Ah, you’ll be needing the library then,” said Alucard.

Trevor felt badly. It was obvious they’d only come back because they were desperate.  But if Alucard felt offended by that, he didn’t show it.

“How can I help?” was all that he said.

They’d gone to their rooms soon after dinner, exhaustion claiming Trevor the moment he’d hit the bed. He woke rather stunned to see daylight and recalled nothing of his dreams.

He got ready and went downstairs to the kitchen finding both Sypha and Alucard there, dealing with the food that Alucard had come back with already. She was putting something into a pot to cook slowly for later and he was assembling what Trevor guessed would be their breakfast. It was such a domestic scene and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d witnessed something like that.

After breakfast they all went into the hold and worked on figuring out how to start the search for answers. It quickly became obvious to Trevor that he couldn’t be very helpful as he didn’t know the arcane languages the magical texts were written in and that was the necessary skill. Leaving them absorbed in their search after determining that they didn’t need anything, Trevor excused himself and decided to work on getting rid of the stench of death in the castle.

It took him an hour of sniffing around but he finally was able to locate the corpse they’d missed wedged up high between a pillar and the wall in the main hall. He got it down by wrapping his whip handle in three towels while wearing a glove. It was clumsy going and still burned but he could tolerate it long enough to loop the whip around the body and yank it down. He decided that the grand carpet was beyond saving, stinking with the amount of blood that it had absorbed during the battle before facing Dracula, so he cut that down into more manageable pieces, rolled the fetid corpse into one of them and then dragged everything out back and set it on fire.

Deciding he needed a break and probably lunch, he went to fetch Sypha and Alucard, reasoning they needed one too. Alucard said nothing about the missing carpet although he most definitely noticed.

That day became the routine for the next few weeks. They’d take turns in the morning at putting something into a pot for dinner later, then Sypha and Alucard would spend the day poring through books and Trevor spent his time fixing up the place.

He’d noticed the air in the hold wasn’t very good with the accumulating smoke and pitch from the torches and asked Alucard if there was a room in the castle that he could move the books they selected into. It was a nice corner space that Alucard had offered, on the same floor as the kitchen. Facing north east, there was good indirect light all day and a large hearth to keep out the chill.

To furnish it, Trevor helped himself to furniture from other parts of the castle they didn’t frequent, without asking permission. He brought over a long table and some chairs, a couple of writing desks, a bench and several bookcases. He finished it off with a sheepskin or pillow on every sitting surface.

That night after dinner, when the others had turned in, he instead went to the hold and brought over all the books that had been piled on the floor and table. The next morning, he was gratified when Sypha had covered her mouth in delighted astonishment and beamed at him, so obviously appreciative of the gesture. Even Alucard graced him with a small smile.

Now that the awful smell had cleared and there was a fire in every room they used, the castle seemed like a warmer place in every sense.

∞

“You don’t eat very much,” said Trevor to Alucard one day over dinner.

“I have a slow metabolism and don’t require a lot.”

Trevor had noticed that Alucard’s portions were very small and he seemed to have a hard time getting through them. He also had noticed that Alucard’s appearance hadn’t exactly returned to how Trevor remembered him looking. He had always looked…perfect. Now however, his hair was lank, he was wan, paler than usual if that was possible, and he had deep shadows on his face which pooled under his eyes and cheekbones.

“How do you feed your other half?”

“Trevor!” scolded Sypha, sounding appalled he would ask such a thing.

“What? I want to know. He’s obviously doing a shit job of taking care of himself. Look at him,” he grumbled.

He turned to Alucard again.

“So?”

“I can drink animal blood.”

“Have you been?” Trevor prodded.

“I’ve been occupied helping Sypha search for a way to save your ungrateful hide,” replied Alucard in a low voice, clearly displeased with the line of questioning.

Trevor grunted and dropped it. He’d gotten his answer.

In an effort to cost Adrian less money, he’d fashioned some snares and had set them that day on the castle grounds. Early the next morning he went out to check the snares and found he’d captured a grouse and a hare, the latter of which was still warm. Coming back to the castle, he immediately set to preparing them to hang in the larder, but in the case of the hare, he drained and reserved its blood first.

At breakfast, he plunked a cup full of it in front of Alucard once he was seated.

“It’s fresh.”

Alucard looked genuinely surprised, eyeing the cup and bringing it up to his nose.

“Thank you.”

He looked a little self conscious when he drank from it and Trevor had to avert his eyes when he realized he was staring at Alucard expectantly.

A few times a week Trevor was able to successfully snare or hunt something that would be fresh enough to give Alucard and so on those days, Alucard would get a cup thrust in front of him unceremoniously, wherever he might be when Trevor had prepared it. Shortly after, Trevor began to see a marked improvement in Alucard’s appearance and he was satisfied.

∞

Trevor’s next task was the floor that had the Țepeș family rooms. Everything looked as it had the night of the battle with Dracula. He had no idea where Alucard slept, if he even did, but he’d seen him coming from this floor several times. The idea that Alucard would be reminded of the violence of that night each time he was here, bothered him. 

He started by sweeping and carting off all the debris in the hallway and then chose to start on the room where they’d killed Dacula. In a pile of rubble on the floor, he came across a miniature portrait that was cracked in half. It was of Alucard’s mother. Trevor searched through the debris and found the other half, cleaning them both with a cloth and setting them together on the desk that was in the room.

He realized the weight of the memories must be crushing for Alucard. There had been nothing left of Trevor’s own home after the fire, no mementos of his family. In some ways that seemed better as there had been nothing to cling to, no reminders of how things had been just the day before everything had changed forever. For Alucard however, this place was frozen in time and it would serve to continually renew his trauma and grief.

Trevor knew that Alucard wasn’t likely to be happy with his unsolicited help but he was of the mind that it was better to ask forgiveness than permission. It needed to be done.

Later, after Trevor had retired for the night but before he fell asleep, there was a soft knock on the door. He sat up in time to see the door opening, and Alucard, briefly silhouetted by the strange torchlight in the hallway, walked in and closed the door softly behind him, plunging the room back into darkness.

“Alucard?”

“What are you doing Belmont?” Alucard said in a tone as cold as ice from the end of the bed.

Trevor knew immediately what he was referring to.

“Just trying to…”

“ _You have no right!”_ Alucard raged at him in a whisper. “ _No right to be there, no right to touch anything!_ ”

Trevor had never heard Alucard sound so angry and even though he was keeping his voice down in order not to wake Sypha next door, Trevor could feel the agony behind very word.

“You can’t live in that Alucard. It’s not healthy,” he replied, trying to sound calm.

“And you’re the one to tell me what’s healthy?” Alucard’s voice sounded incredulous for all its spite. “Do I need to remind you of your own words, Belmont? Waking up covered in vomit just a few months ago disqualifies you from giving advice!”

“Alucard. I know you’re angry but I do know something about what you are going through. I didn’t deal with my own grief… properly. I didn’t have help, probably could have done with some, but I have perspective. I can recognize it. You don’t want to end up like me, do you?”

Trevor could hear the frequency of Alucard’s breaths reducing. He sounded like he was trying to calm himself.

“It would be disrespectful to sanitize it all, as if what I did, didn’t happen,” he finally said.  “It’s reality and it’s all I have left of them.”

Trevor felt like he was in very unfamiliar territory and completely unqualified to dispense any wisdom or advice but he recognized it was needed. He often had to remind himself that Alucard was younger, at least in lived experience and probably in years too, and so Trevor was in a position to help, however poorly.

“I know. I know that,” Trevor acknowledged, trying to find the right words. “Before your mother died, you had a good family life, yes? They loved you, did they not? They wouldn’t want to see you suffer. Wouldn’t it be better to honor their memory without the pain and violence of that night? You can’t continue to carry the weight of that Alucard. You had two choices; stand by your father who had descended into madness and watch him annihilate the human race or oppose him. So, not really a choice. You did the only thing that could help him not commit that atrocity. You were the bravest of us all and you did what needed to be done, selflessly. There’s a lot of honor in that. Your parents would be proud, anyone would be, I know it.”

Trevor could still hear Alucard’s breaths but they were markedly calmer now.

“Let me help.”

There was a long silence and then the swish of fabric before the door opened and closed quietly as Alucard let himself out.

It took Trevor a long time to calm his own heart enough for sleep.

The next day he continued chipping away at his self-appointed task with no further comment from Alucard.

∞

Trevor brought in a new stack of books that Sypha had selected from the hold earlier.

“Alucard,” he greeted, seeing him sitting at the table in the study room.

“Why does it sound like you’re always mocking me when you say my name?” asked Alucard.

“What do you mean?” asked Trevor even though he knew exactly what Alucard meant. He often used a certain inflection and was now being called out for it. Of course, the fact that Alucard called him _Belmont_ like it was a word too unsavoury to pass his lips was beside the point being made.

Trevor saw that Alucard was staring at him, obviously unimpressed with his feigned ignorance. It greatly annoyed Trevor that Alucard often didn’t have to say anything and he’d talk when he hadn’t intended to, in order to fill the void.

“To be honest, I fucking hate your name,” confessed Trevor.

Alucard continued to stare at Trevor, crossing his arms over his chest but saying nothing.

“You said the good people of Wallachia named you Alucard and each time I say it, all I can think is how they were such fucking idiots. Did they elect a five-year-old to come up with that?”

“Do you hate my given name too?” asked Alucard, somehow sounding barely interested.

“No,” Trevor answered a bit defensively. “Adrian is a good name.”

“Then call me that.”

“OK.”

∞

One day in March when the land had shed its white cloak for green, Trevor was in the village spending Adrian’s money on supplies. He spotted a pretty pair of embroidered slippers for sale and bought them for Sypha as well as a live chicken for Adrian although he couldn’t guess if chicken blood would be palatable. Regardless, they’d eat it for dinner.

It turned out that chicken blood was acceptable. Adrian hadn’t seemed picky so far.

Trevor had left the slippers at the foot of Sypha’s bed and almost forgot about them until that evening when there was a knock at his door. He opened it to find Sypha standing there, holding the slippers.

“Those are supposed to go on your feet, you know?” he chided.

Her eyes were really shining and Trevor was momentarily scared that she was going to cry.

“What’s with you and proper footwear anyway?” he asked.

Sypha sniffed and looked down.

“It’s because magical energy is sustained by the earth. There’s a physical connection with the ground and with the air and how magic moves into the body. Shoes get in the way.”

She looked a little wobbly standing there.

“But it doesn’t matter because I don’t have magic anymore. I just…I just keep forgetting.”

Sypha crumpled in front of him and Trevor caught her into a hug and held her close while huge, gut wracking sobs shook her body.

“I’m so sorry Sypha. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair while holding her close.

∞

Walking into the study one afternoon Trevor found Alucard and Sypha quietly hunched over their books, looking as they usually did. Sypha’s brow was furrowed with determined focus as she scanned the page with her finger. Adrian, deep in concentration, had one fang poking out which pressed against his bottom lip. Trevor found himself staring at them so long he completely forgot what he had gone there for and backed out, embarrassed, when Adrian had raised his head and given him a searching look.

∞

One day, after Trevor finished righting the room he’d been working on in the Țepeș family area, he entered a bedroom he realized must be Adrian’s. His coat was hanging over the back of a chair at the writing desk and his sword leaned against the wall in the corner near the bed. Otherwise it was an impersonal space and very spartan. As he moved into the room, he saw that the miniature portrait of Adrian’s mother he’d found in a pile of debris was on the desk. It looked as though it had been repaired as it was no longer in two pieces. Trevor suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable intruding on Adrian’s privacy and quickly left.

On his way back down the hall after ripping out some broken shelving in another room, he saw Adrian’s lithe form coming towards him. He’d always appreciated how Adrian moved, masculine yet quietly graceful. It made Trevor feel like he lumbered in comparison.

Seeing Trevor, Adrian turned into the closest room without acknowledging him. When Trevor got to the doorway, he looked in but Adrian wasn’t there.

The window was open. Trevor walked to it and looked down in time to see Adrian come to a soft landing using his powers of levitation, what must have been a few hundred feet below, and then stalking off until he was out of sight around the corner of the building.

Trevor just stared for a long time, rather in shock, before his brow creased in anger.

Finding Sypha in the study he waited until she looked up.

“What’s wrong?” she immediately asked, reading the anger on his face.

“He jumped out the window rather than face me.”

Sypha looked startled.

“Who does that? Who jumps out a fucking window?” asked Trevor crossly.

Sypha bit her bottom lip as she regarded Trevor with wide eyes.

“He must truly loathe me Sypha, more than I could have guessed. He doesn’t have to like me but I don’t think I can handle being loathed while also accepting his _charity_ ,” Trevor said, spitting out the last word. “This is his house. I’ll go stay somewhere else.”

“Oh,” whispered Sypha. “Well… I don’t want to betray a confidence,” she said, sounding conflicted.

Trevor’s eyebrows raised.

“But it has something to do with the black magic, you know,” she indicating with her hand that there was more, “like the demons.”

“Oh,” said Trevor, eyebrows reaching new heights on his forehead. “I assumed it didn’t do anything to him, since he’s half human or whatever. He never let on.”

“That’s what he does, he keeps everything so close,” Sypha said sadly.

“So, he talked to you about it?” asked Trevor, incredulous.

“He did. We do spend at least ten hours a day together, you know,” answered Sypha a bit defensively. “I also might have badgered him relentlessly until he did,” she admitted. “What?”

“So, you’re his confessor now?”

“Friend, Trevor. The correct word is friend and yes, I am. Is that a problem?” she asked a little coldly.

“No, of course it’s not,” grumbled Trevor, irrationally still feeling irked.

“It’s not like he has anybody else to talk to. Not here and he can’t get close to _you_ , not in Gresit, maybe back in Târgoviște before his mother died.”

“Well he _has_ been sleeping most of that time.”

“Exactly, yes. What else would you do if you had no one to talk to?”

“Hey, he must have had some kind of social life. He did know what a bar fight looked like,” Trevor grinned.

“That’s not the healthy, bond building, social interaction I’m talking about. Anyway, he said that black magic comes off you in waves, sometimes manageable, sometimes not. So, don’t take it personally.”

“He should have told me. I could have stayed away more or something.”

“Eh, that would require you two men to have an adult conversation with each other,” Sypha said chuckling like it was a ridiculous thought. “But you should try to talk to him.”

 

Adrian missed dinner. The next morning there was a large hare to drain and rather than waste it, Trevor walked up to Adrian’s room and knocked. He set the cup on the floor and was already halfway down the hall when the door opened. Adrian came out and picked up the cup.

“Thank you,” he called to Trevor.

“No problem,” Trevor answered over his shoulder as he made his way back to the kitchen.

He now knew to keep his distance and modified his behaviour and, likely noticing the change, Adrian watched him with curiosity that day. He’d almost caught Adrian staring several times but he had either looked away in an unhurried fashion or was most definitely looking elsewhere by the time Trevor had turned around. He could feel it though. Some sixth sense buried deep within the genes of the Belmont line allowed him to feel when a vampire was near and he had its attention.

Early the following morning before breakfast, Trevor headed outside to the woodpile. He had already chopped a lot of wood previously but thought he’d split a few more logs before bringing the firewood inside. He’d just split the first one when he felt the tingling of that sixth sense and looked up to see Adrian leaning against the wood shed, watching him.

“Hey,” he said in greeting.

Adrian answered him with a nod.

Trevor didn’t know what else to say so he turned back to his chopping, feeling self conscious about it. He’d split two more logs before Adrian finally spoke.

“I came to apologize, for yesterday.”

“No need,” Trevor said, placing another log on the stump.

“It’s just that I’m affected by the magic in you,” Adrian pressed on “and some days you’re hard to be around, Belmont. I mean, harder than usual,” he’d said that last part with a smirk.

Stopping what he was doing, Trevor grinned at Adrian before sobering. “You really don’t need to apologize. I should be apologizing to you. And I am. I’m sorry for bringing this shit into your life. You have enough to deal with,” Trevor said gruffly.

“I’m glad you came back. I want to help.”

Trevor nodded, feeling a bit lighter. A truce, a confession and an adult conversation. Apparently, Adrian was also offering to help carry the wood back, seeing as he had started to fill the wood carrier.

∞

“Here,” said Adrian, tossing Trevor a slim book from the threshold of Trevor’s bedroom.

Trevor, seated on the floor by the fire with his weapons and some cleaning cloths, deftly caught it.

“What’s this?” 

“Seems your family had some interesting hobbies. It's a book on sex magic.”

“Why are you giving me this Adrian?” asked Trevor guardedly.

Adrian's eyes narrowed.

“Don't look so worried Belmont. Or maybe you should be. Can you read Latin?” 

“Some. Not much actually.”

“ _Try_ ,” he said waspishly, tossing him another book. It was a bilingual dictionary. 

“Why?”

“I think this might help Sypha to regain her magic.”

“Oh. So why are you giving it to me?”

“Belmont,” he said warningly. “Think.”

Trevor frowned. He hated it when Adrian did that superiority act as though he was an idiot yet he hadn’t imparted enough information for Trevor to reasonably hope to understand.

“She's already read the book and plans to try it, _alone,_ once you are healed. However, from what I've read, it'll be more effective with your... participation. If that's something you'd consider.”

Trevor's eyes widened in surprise despite himself.

“May your God help you if you need my assistance to read it but I _will_ help you, for Sypha's sake.” 

Giving him a meaningful look that lasted longer than necessary, Adrian pushed himself off the door frame and walked away without another word, leaving Trevor feeling a lot of conflicting things.

He was elated and relieved that there might be a way to help Sypha regain her magic.

If a way could be found to heal him, it looked like that prophecy was going to come true sooner than later.

He was concerned about the Latin and he was too proud. He’d have to figure it out on his own if it killed him.

But Adrian having just given him a sex book and offering to help him read it is what his brain kept circling back to as he waited for sleep to come.

His dreams that night were not chaste. They were filled with smooth expanses of cool, marble coloured flesh, strands of gleaming golden hair, sparkling as they caught the light and smelling of green forest. Pearly, sharp canines pressing against soft lips and intense, penetrating yellow eyes that stayed with him like an after-image even when the dream was done.

 

The next morning, when Trevor walked into the kitchen for breakfast, he saw that Adrian was already there at the table preparing ingredients to go in the pot for later – it was his turn at dinner. The sight of him brought the memories of the dream and all of its sensations back to Trevor in a powerful rush. He barely stopped himself from moaning out loud.

Adrian’s head snapped up however, reacting like he’d just been slapped. Looking at Trevor with wide eyes, he excused himself, leaving the kitchen quickly.

“Oh, fuck no,” Trevor groaned as he guessed at the connection between the intensity of the black magic that affected Adrian and his thoughts.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was an idiot and edited something out meaning to go replace it later and now;
> 
> 1.I don't remember what it was  
> 2.can't find where it's missing  
> 3.can't even be reasonably sure I am telling the truth
> 
> So, if you find a word hole, please let me know.


	4. Autonomous Motivations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trevor and Adrian make attempts to understand each other a little better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've extended this fic by one chapter after miscalculating the length. That last chapter won't be posted for a while because I also miscalculated how long it would take me to finish and am leaving town for a while, so. Two fails.  
> At least I tried?

 

 

“It’s gotten worse?” Trevor could hear Sypha saying.

“What’s gotten worse?” he inquired as he rounded the doorway into the kitchen, and seeing Sypha and Adrian at the table, instantly regretted his question. Idiot.

Sypha looked up. “The effect of the black magic. Adrian was saying how it has become stronger. I’m not sure what this means or why it’s changing but I’m worried it’s somehow not stable.”

“Uuhh,” said Trevor, as he stood there, frozen, with both of them now staring at him.

“That was spectacularly insightful, Belmont,” Adrian offered when he saw Trevor wasn’t going to elaborate, before getting back to what he’d been doing.

Trevor could feel a violent flush starting on his cheeks and quickly went to the pantry on the pretext of needing something. What was he going to do? Telling them what he’d discovered meant admitting to having sexual thoughts about Adrian. Adrian, who was _compelled_ to be attracted to him by the black magic and would likely not welcome such news. It was all so fucking awful not to mention embarrassing.

Leaning against a shelf and willing his colour back to normal, he decided not to share that information yet and to try harder to keep his thoughts from going astray. He couldn’t quite escape Sypha’s eyes afterwards.

It’s a universal rule that trying not to think of something is an effort that rarely succeeds. Trevor mostly managed to stay away from Adrian and to keep his problematic thoughts to the confines of his bedroom. The mornings were the hardest, as he woke on the verge of a climax day after day, the dreams already fading as Adrian’s touch still ghosted his arms, his face, his painful erection.

Trevor wondered at the intensity and suddenness of the dreams. Why hadn’t he thought of Adrian in that way before? He readily admitted Adrian was attractive. Also: snotty, privileged, irritating, a vampire and therefore adversary. Maybe it had been too much to see past initially, but why did it take finding out that Adrian was compelled to be attracted to him, to make him attracted to Adrian? Trevor ultimately settled on it being another sick joke the universe played at his expense.

∞

One day in May, with no ceremony, Sypha announced to Trevor that they had found the recipe to purge all traces of the black magic from his body. It was essentially a potion to be taken orally, and was corroborated in another book, written hundreds of years earlier so, seemed legitimate. It had numerous ingredients however, and while some were commonly available whether by purchase or by cultivation, two would prove more difficult to obtain. Sypha reasoned that they should start collecting or planning for the ingredients as soon as possible, while also shifting their focus to finding the white magic knowledge they needed.

The two ingredients that would take a little more effort were matragun as it was called locally, and helleborus. The matragun component would require both the root and leaves to be sourced and harvested correctly in June - they couldn’t lose this window. Hellebore, while a common enough plant in the area, was required to be harvested and dried with its flowers and as it was a winter plant with a January bloom time, would need to be sourced from an herbs merchant.

After asking at the local village, a purveyor of botanicals was said to be in a village two and a half day’s travel from the castle. Sypha suggested to Trevor that he and Adrian combine the two trips and go in June.

“I’ll go alone,” said Trevor, not relishing a journey that would be torturous for both of them.

“No, it’s too dangerous with all the demons after you and Adrian can give you more help than I can,” Sypha replied, reasonably.

“So, Adrian can go then.”

“No, you have to harvest the matragun yourself. That’s very important.”

“OK, I’ll get it in a day trip and Adrian can go to that village,” Trevor said, annoyance creeping into his tone.

“That’s also not a good idea. He’s told me, in the past he’s had trouble with people once they realize what he is. They know him in this village now but someone else might not want to interact with him or sell to him. It’s safest if you two go together.”

Defeated, Trevor scowled. “I don’t even know how he can handle this curse without losing his shit. And if he does lose his shit, I’ll be in his line of fire.”

Sypha looked at him with sympathy.

 

They decided to go get the hellebore first and scout the area on the way for the matragun, taking a different route back if none were spotted.

The June weather was pleasantly warm when the pair set out. The day was clear and there was a light breeze bearing the fragrance of spring flowers and fresh green things. Despite the nice weather, Adrian wore gloves and a densely woven cloak over his clothing that went just past his knees and which had a hood that he wore over his head, leaving his face well shadowed. Each had with them a carry bag and bedroll along with some necessities. They walked in tandem but several feet apart from each other and Trevor successfully had no thoughts which could make Adrian uncomfortable and he was proud of it.

They stopped along the way to eat the lunch they’d brought with them but took dinner at an inn they passed in the late afternoon. Trevor noticed how Adrian only spoke with his head down and tried to interact as little as possible with the staff, presumably to hide his heritage. His behaviour came off as shy or antisocial but they had no trouble.

Trevor preferred to camp as he was used to that and he also really disliked bedbugs which were pretty much a guarantee at any traveller’s inn. Adrian readily agreed to it and their first night passed uneventfully. After a quick breakfast the following day, they set out again and made good time.

Apropos of nothing and because he wanted to fill some gaps in his knowledge, Trevor asked Adrian some questions as they walked.

“How much does the sun bother you?”

“I’ll easily get a burn in direct sun but if I stay to the shadows or am covered, it’s tolerable enough for a while.”

“We could always travel earlier and later in the day, take a break when the sun’s highest.”

“It’s only a few days. I’ll be fine but thank you.”

Trevor nodded. “Is the blood of virgins really that much more special to vampires and why? Why would sex change it?”

“I think that is a misconception. It’s virgin blood as in young blood; not yet aged or contaminated by illnesses or physical trauma and whatever else humans pick up during their lives. For humans, a comparison would be eating the flesh of a young, healthy animal versus a stringy old one.”

“But there is a connection between the blood drinking and sex, yes? How do vampires choose who to feed from?” asked Trevor, genuinely curious. “Male vampires don’t always go after females for example.”

“Yes, since blood drinking and sexuality are often intertwined, vampires are rather flexible in regards to the gender of their partner out of practicality although I imagine they might still have innate preferences.”

“Interesting you’d call victims, _partners_ ,” said Trevor with a sneer.

“There _are_ willing partners, Belmont,” Adrian replied sharply. “Not all vampires are blood crazed beasts ripping out the throats of every human they encounter. You probably will never hear about the ones living quiet, peaceful lives. Your dim view of vampires is informed only by the worst individuals,” he continued. “You don’t judge all humans by only those who commit the worst atrocities.”

“It’s a struggle not to actually,” growled Trevor. “What’s the appeal then? The power imbalance? The threat of being exsanguinated at any given moment?

“Really? From the myriad of stories humans like to tell about star-crossed lovers or ones who weather social or political obstacles to be with another, you can’t guess it’s love?”

Trevor grunted. That was fair. Adrian’s own mother had signed on for presumably that reason. Not one to give up on a topic before he was done, however, Trevor further badgered Adrian.

“So, what about you? Are you more human or vampire?”

“What?” asked Adrian, confused.

“You were talking about vampiric _partner_ preferences,” Trevor clarified.

“But that flexibility can also be a human trait? Minus the blood drinking.”

“And?” prompted Trevor.

“It seems you feel no contrition for asking intrusively personal questions,” Adrian snapped.

“Nope.”

“Asshole.”

“That’s your preference?” Trevor leered.

“Oh my god, fuck you,” Adrian replied, exasperated.

Trevor laughed, enjoying this all too much. He didn’t think Adrian was actually going to answer his question as so much time had passed with them walking in silence.

“I think the subject of my affections determines my preference,” Adrian finally conceded. “Whether that’s more human or vampire, I can’t tell.”

Trevor nodded to show he’d heard. He had to admit, he appreciated the candor. Adrian approached every true question with a seriousness and open honesty which often surprised Trevor. He didn’t appear to feign ignorance, lie or play games of any kind which was a little humbling when Trevor compared it to his own behaviour and all the walls he’d put up. He found it so difficult to talk about himself, especially when he couldn’t be sure of the answers, deliberately having avoided too much introspection for so long.

Some time later Adrian asked him a personal question.

“Regarding your feelings on that prophecy… some would likely be happy to have their path laid out before them.  Knowing who they will marry and that they will have a family could easily be considered a blessing. It feels like a noose for you however, from what you’ve said. Is it just that you feel you haven’t yet experienced enough of what life has to offer? Before committing yourself?”

“No, it’s not that,” Trevor hedged as he considered what to tell Adrian. He owed him some honesty in return for his frank reply earlier. “Regarding experience, I had a well-rounded education,” he said brusquely. “Anyway, I’ve taken comfort where I can, often from whomever was offering, if you know what I mean.” He didn’t look at Adrian but could feel his eyes on him. “Does that surprise you?”

“A little, to be honest. I might have thought your tastes to be a little more conventional.”

“They might have been, fuck I don’t know. Does experience make a man?” asked Trevor, hand gripping at his hair while he walked. “Maybe if my family was alive, I’d be married with kids now. Or maybe not. I don’t fucking know. What I do know is how pointless living my life would be if the decisions I make have been authored, as a prophecy would suggest. That’s all it is,” Trevor said, done with being candid.

Adrian seemed to consider his response for some time before replying. “Maybe you’re thinking of it the wrong way, Belmont. What if it isn’t a question of immutable fate at all but that the oracle was able to see the future and the prophecy merely tells you the decisions _you_ made. You still get agency and the prophecy can still exist.”

Trevor had to admit that argument was appealing. Both became absorbed in their thoughts and walked on in silence.

They selected a good-sized clearing in the woods as their campsite for the night. The stars glittered in a cloudless sky overhead and the moon waxed near full, painting the land below in cool tones of otherworldly light. It wasn’t quite cold enough yet for a fire and the night was truly beautiful without the extra light. They sat at the unlit firepit across from each other, each lost in thought.

At some point Trevor glanced over at his travelling companion and realized he’d just made a mistake but it was too late. He couldn’t help the rush of thoughts that filled his head against his best efforts. Adrian looked so beautiful, so regal sitting there on his mossy dais, crowned in a halo of moon washed silver hair. He wore his hair tucked behind one elegant, slightly pointed ear and Trevor was reminded of his childhood storybooks; sitting before him was an ethereal prince from the court of Oberon.

Adrian turned his head and caught him staring. Trevor dropped his gaze and became interested in something he’d turned up with the toe of his boot. When he looked up again, Adrian was still watching him.

“I had better go somewhere else,” Adrian said, breaking his gaze and getting up. “I’ll be close if there are any night visitors.”

“I’m sorry how this is affecting you. It’s a pretty shit deal.”

“It’s certainly made it worse,” replied Adrian quietly as he walked away.

_Made it worse_ , Trevor repeated to himself. His heart began thundering in his chest and it made him uncomfortable.

“Wait,” Trevor called to Adrian’s retreating back.

He rounded on Adrian and stopped a few feet in front of him, blocking his way.

“What did you mean, _made it worse_?”

They both stared at each other, Adrian meeting his gaze before looking away. Trevor watched Adrian swallow. He’d never seen him look so discomfited.

“Trevor, you and Sypha…you both mean so much to me,” Adrian began.

Hearing his first name alarmed Trevor. He could probably count the number of times Adrian had called him by his given name on one finger.

“I’ve never before had such good friends and I don’t want to risk what we have,” Adrian continued, giving him a half-hearted smile.

“Is our friendship in jeopardy?” Trevor asked with some concern.

“It’s only that, I find…I find I don’t want to be _just_ your friend,” Adrian said looking him in the eyes before dropping his gaze again. “I know I have no right to feel this way and I’m probably making you uncomfortable.”

Trevor took a moment to digest that as his heart threatened to forget what it was supposed to be doing.

“Isn’t that the black magic talking?” he asked carefully as Adrian looked back up at him.

“I know my own mind,” Adrian said a little crossly before assuming a neutral expression. “And, you would have had to be infected with it before you left.”

“You felt this way before?” Trevor asked, trying not to let disbelief colour his voice.

Adrian gave him a slight nod.

Oh… All this time and Trevor hadn’t seen it. Couldn’t see it because of the compulsion.

“So, you think you’d still feel this way if the dark magic was lifted?” He was aware Adrian would probably be annoyed for being asking again but he wanted to be absolutely sure.

“Yes,” sighed Adrian.

Trevor wondered if that was enough. There was nothing appealing in the possibility that he’d be taking advantage of a situation only for Adrian to regret it later. He didn’t think he could handle that, seeing ardour cool and perhaps transform into disgust.

Adrian frowned. “Are you _trying_ to humiliate me?” he asked at Trevor’s prolonged silence. “Trevor, the curse is bad enough. Tell me to fuck off and I will. Just tell me something.”

Trevor went back to what Adrian had said earlier. “Why no right?”

“You’re not mine to have.”

“Don’t I get some say in who’s I am?” he asked, taking the steps to stand right in front of Adrian. He brought a hand up to his face and lightly touched his cheekbone, watching Adrian close his eyes and then felt an almost imperceptible pressure as he leaned in lightly to Trevor’s touch.

He took the final step and closed the gap between them, tilting his head up slightly and gently pressing his mouth against Adrian’s, revelling in the feel of soft, cool lips, feeling his light kiss being returned, and hearing Adrian’s quiet moan. He slipped his hand around the back of Adrian’s neck and the other found its way to the small of his back and, bringing their bodies fully against each other, groaned at the feel of Adrian’s growing hardness against his own.

Trevor realized that even though Adrian was responding, he was standing there stiffly, his hands bunched into fists and guessed he was frozen in the grips of a battle between will and compulsion.

“I want this,” whispered Trevor against Adrian’s lips, quaking with his own pent up desire. “You have no idea how much.”

Adrian moaned his reply like a sob of relief.

“Just relax,” said Trevor in what he hoped was an encouraging tone.

Adrian broke away and took a step back.

“With this curse? I can't. I can never relax. What if I were to hurt you? It makes me want things…too intensely.”

“I can take care of myself,” Trevor answered roughly, annoyed at the implication that he was somehow weak.

“Trevor, please, you're forgetting what I am. What if I can't stop?” Adrian said seriously. “I hardly know what it is I’m asking for,” he said with a bitter laugh. “But this is unbearable.”

Trevor could hear the anguish in Adrian's voice and felt responsible. Additionally, he recognized Adrian was asking for help as much as his pride would allow. “Let me try something?” Trevor asked, getting an idea.

Trevor took Adrian's hand and led him, unresisting, to the closest tree a few feet away and gently pushed his back against it. Kissing Adrian again, he swiped his bottom lip with his tongue teasingly before entering his mouth. The kiss was deep and slow. Trevor couldn’t believe how good Adrian tasted and smelled to him – it was intoxicating.  Breaking away he grabbed the hem of Adrian’s shirt and lifting it up, slipped it over his head before dropping it carelessly to the side. Caressing the smooth planes of his chest and the hard angles of his abdomen, Trevor kissed at his collar bones and then at the still vivid scar that slashed diagonally across Adrian’s chest. His hands moved down to Adrian’s waist and, hooking his fingers into the waistband of his pants, slid them around to the front. Finding the laces, Trevor started to undo them just before sinking to his knees.

He could see the outline of Adrian’s erection straining against his pants and he slid his palm over it, cupping the length and applying some gentle pressure. Glancing up, Trevor thought Adrian looked like he wanted to form words but was incapable. Grinning, he went back to work on loosening the laces enough to slide the pants halfway down Adrian’s thighs, freeing his cock. His dick looked very much like the rest of him – tall and proud. There was a small amount of wispy blond hair at its base that trailed lower, towards his balls but otherwise his skin was smooth and hairless.

Reaching up, Trevor felt at the taught stomach that was as hard as marble, slid his hands over a little to trace the jut of Adrian’s hips, carefully touching everything but his cock. He moved closer and kissed at his inner thighs, sending huffs of warm breath over Adrian’s cool skin. Trevor looked up again to see Adrian’s head leaned back against the tree, his eyes shut and lips slightly parted. His hands were still balled into tight fists, bloodless knuckles gleaming white. But he was still there, letting Trevor do this and that was enough for the moment.

Trevor wrapped his hand around Adrian’s cock, slowly starting to move it up and down the length of him. With his other hand he stroked Adrian’s thighs and reached between his legs to stroke his balls.  Leaning in to kiss and lick between his thighs, Trevor could smell a faint herbal scent which he found endearing, but it was the scent of Adrian’s skin that drove him wild with desire.

Grabbing the base of the shaft and angling it towards his mouth, he used his tongue to trace the head in an exploratory lick, eliciting a shudder from Adrian, and then did it again, swirling his tongue before sliding his cock into his mouth little by little. The contrast in their body temperatures was incredible. Both couldn’t help but moan at the sensation. To Trevor, the soft noises that Adrian had started to make were cracks in the iron-willed control he had over his body and oh, how he wanted to shatter it. Trevor used his free arm to feel and stroke every part of Adrian’s body he could reach from his tight ass to his slim hips, defined abdomen, smooth thighs while tightening his grip on his cock and getting more and more of it down his relaxed throat on each stroke. He’d tighten his lips on each down stroke and swipe the head with his tongue on each up stroke until he could feel Adrian’s legs shaking.

Trevor snaked his other hand around to Adrian’s ass and pushed him forward towards himself and deeper into his mouth. Adrian’s breath started to hitch and Trevor buried him to the hilt in his throat again and got a fevered moan. He could feel Adrian’s body tensing. He pulled out a little in order to get his hand and mouth synchronized and started pumping until Adrian cried out. He could feel a spasm followed by cool fluid pulsing to fill his mouth and Adrian sobbing with release above him. He swallowed it all, pressing Adrian into him one last time before letting go with a last lick.

Trevor sat back on his heels and watched Adrian slowly sink to the ground, heedless of the rough bark against his naked back. His pants were half down, face slack with parted lips exposing the tips of his fangs, eyes unfocused and some of his hair had become snagged in the bark of the tree and stretched into vertical trails of spikey silver halo in the moonlight, giving him the look of an exceedingly angelic reprobate.

Trevor noticed that Adrian’s hands were still balled into tight fists so he took one into his own and gently pried it open by massaging with his thumbs before moving to the other.

“Hey,” said Trevor quietly as Adrian’s eyes focused on him as he came back to himself.  “Do you ever let go?”

Adrian struggled to speak for a moment. “That magic is so strong. I just can’t right now.”

“I want you to.” Trevor said, shifting position to brace his arms against the tree on either side of Adrian and coming in for a long, deep kiss.

“Reckless,” Adrian whispered against Trevor’s lips, as his hands slid up Trevor’s back, taking his shirt with them.

Perhaps it was safer now that Adrian had a moment’s reprieve from the curse and he could focus calmly on Trevor before it took hold of him again.

Trevor had never been touched as Adrian touched him, as he was pushed back to lie on the ground. He closed his eyes and surrendered to hands that sought to discover his body, stroking his arms, the contours of his torso, his muscular thighs and calves. It was long and slow and sweet and he couldn’t get enough of the bliss Adrian’s touch engendered. Fingers tangled in his hair and feather light kisses were placed on his eyelids and the corners of his mouth. The tip of a tongue traced his bottom lip and sought entrance, slipping inside his willing mouth as a hand teasingly ghosted around his cock, already so hard and wet with slick. And just when he was starting to lose his patience with the light touches, Adrian applied more pressure, his caresses becoming more urgent and purposeful. Trevor cried out when he felt Adrian’s tongue lapping up the precome pooling on the head of his cock and then tracing the length of it, while a hand held his balls and then stroked behind them. He was a little nervous about the teeth as he felt his cock breach Adrian’s mouth, but it felt too good to complain. He tried to stay still, he really did but his efforts earned him a frustrated growl and strong hands clamping his hips in place when he couldn’t help but buck into that mouth.

 

Trevor woke first, when dawn had just broken and he was damp from the fair amount of dew covering him and his bedroll.  He could easily make out the features of Adrian’s pale face in the weak light, looking peaceful and unguarded as he slept next to him.  

Trevor felt conflicted. He wanted nothing more than to lose himself again in what Adrian was offering but he had the awful feeling that none of this would turn out well and that he _was_ being reckless and also selfish. He’d never been in a romantic relationship before and was now the time to start? Could he honestly expect to survive despite Sypha’s and Adrian’s research skills and determination? If things did continue to go well between him and Adrian and based on what Adrian had said about liking Trevor for some time, what would it do to him to lose another person he cared about? Was he getting ahead of himself even thinking about this as a relationship? He had to admit, now that he had a taste of the possibility, he thought he might want it. But would that be fair to Adrian? Should he even be thinking for Adrian who was his own person, after all?

Trevor’s gaze had drifted down and he didn’t realize that Adrian was awake and watching him, mouth quirked a little at Trevor’s obvious struggle with troubling thoughts.

“Having second thoughts about being with me?” he eventually asked, startling Trevor.

“No,” he replied with a shake of his head before turning away. “I’m just. I don’t want to do the wrong thing,” he finally said, deciding in favour of honesty.

Adrian gave him a thoughtful look as he reached up to touch a lock of Trevor’s hair. “Then stop thinking and kiss me. Not doing it would be the wrong thing.”

Trevor found it easy enough to push his concerns aside for the time being and comply with Adrian’s wishes.

 

They reached the herb merchant in the early afternoon, having been directed to the hut by some farmers just outside the village. Adrian followed Trevor inside the rustic cob building, which turned out to be one large primary room with weak natural light coming through a few small windows. Rows upon rows of shelves lined the walls, burdened with hundreds of wooden, clay and glass containers. The place smelled heavily of organic matter, both medicinal and floral.

Trevor rang the bell that sat on a counter and after some time a small, wizened man with a rather wild beard full of bits of herbs, shuffled out of a side room. He greeted them with a salesman’s smile and then crinkled in concentration as he read the request that Trevor handed him from Sypha.

Getting a rickety step ladder, he pulled down a wooden container filled with dried, flowering hellebore. As he measured the ingredients, Adrian called out to double it, quietly telling Trevor he’d be making two batches, just in case.

Asked if they would be needing anything else, Trevor blurted out a request for oil, causing Adrian to turn his head away, casually bringing a hand to his mouth to hide his reaction.

Trevor, with a serious demeanor and many questions about the various types and their uses, settled on an oil suitable for topical applications to relieve dry skin.  

They left the shop with several packages, barely holding in their laughter.

 

That evening, the campsite was littered with discarded clothing forming a meandering trail to where Adrian lay with Trevor. Already both slick with the oil, Trevor felt Adrian press into him slowly, the euphoric feeling of being breached and filled driving him wild with need for more of it. Braced over him, Adrian slowly fisted Trevor’s straining cock while fully sheathing himself inside him in a measured manner.

“How can you stay in control!” Trevor bit out, nearly losing any shreds of it he might have been clinging to.

Adrian replied by pulling out and sliding back in slowly, with a smirk on his face, while Trevor panted under him, writhing in an effort to gain more contact, more friction. In a short time though, Adrian’s long strokes started to quicken as he thrust more forcefully and began to gasp himself, unable to stay quiet.

Arching his back and grabbing at Adrian’s ass to pull him closer, Trevor’s encouragement was cut short as suddenly, a low growl cut through the sound of their exertions and Trevor felt Adrian's body tense and freeze. He shifted his weight onto his elbow in order to follow Adrian's gaze and turned his head to look behind him.

Glowing blue eyes met his as a large demon quietly touched down on the ground, head low, teeth bared, wings up as its breath huffed in a parody of a laugh.

“Fuck!” Trevor exclaimed, frustrated he’d left his weapons out of reach. “Can you summon your sword?” he yelled when Trevor saw that Adrian wasn't doing it, while swiveling his head from the demon to Adrian and back again.

Instead, Adrian gave an answering growl and the sound coming from him froze Trevor’s breath. The pitch had lowered - it was no longer the Adrian he knew. Trevor turned back to see the change coming over him. Adrian's arms, braced on either side of him became somehow harder, the muscles forming deeper planes and more pronounced ridges. His neatly trimmed fingernails extended into talons. His fangs grew to a frightening length. His eyes filled with blood rage. The chilling aura that now emanated from him was so palpable it made Trevor shiver involuntarily to the core of his soul.

Trevor assessed his situation. Adrian hadn't moved and was still balls deep inside him. Trevor was trapped and impaled, by choice, he was aware, on the cock of an apex predator having a showdown with a horny hell spawn over his body. It would have been funny except he didn’t like being helpless.

“Sword!” he bellowed at Adrian, getting through to him at last.

It was over pretty quickly. Adrian covered Trevor with more of his body, eyes locked in challenge with the demon just as his sword came singing through the brush and, entering the back of the demon’s head, hilted itself in its skull, blade coming out the front while taking an eye with it. The creature toppled over with a groan and made no further movements and the night returned to its previously quiet state save for the sound of their breathing.

With the threat taken care of, Trevor dropped his head back down to the ground with a grunt and looked up, taking stock of the different Adrian between his thighs and braced over him. Trevor’s vision was framed by many strands of white gold hair that gently moved in time with Adrian’s breaths and were at odds with the menacing red eyes that bore into him, although their expression was one of regret. Adrian’s lips parted to speak and revealed more of his lengthened fangs. Without meaning to, Trevor closed his eyes and tipped his head back with a moan. An involuntary admission. An invitation. He was being fucked by a monster and he was beyond turned on.

 “You want me like this?” Adrian growled at him in surprise, and getting no answer save the moan that escaped Trevor’s lips, experimentally thrust his pelvis forward once, burying himself even deeper into Trevor.

“Oh, fuck yes,” Trevor gasped, so taut from need and desire that had just been ratcheted up to inconceivable levels that he hungrily grasped at Adrian’s shoulders, his ass, his neck, wrapping his legs around his back – anything to bring him closer and deeper.

With a look of disbelief, Adrian pushed into Trevor again and only meeting with foul mouthed encouragement, grabbed Trevor’s legs and effortlessly hoisted them over his shoulders before starting to thrust hard and fast. Trevor couldn’t control the sounds coming out of his mouth and he soon didn’t care, having lost any sense of shame or command over his body, it being entirely supplanted with the need to have as much of Adrian inside him as possible while desperately trying not to come yet. The moment Adrian touched his leaking cock however, swiping a taloned finger over the glistening head, Trevor was coming so hard he was shouting himself hoarse. Adrian then gripped Trevor’s hips forcefully and fucked him into the ground until his own climax, spilling into him and riding out the aftershocks still buried deep inside. Then he collapsed, half draped over Trevor, half on the ground while both tried to catch their breaths.

After what seemed like a very short time, Trevor could feel Adrian getting hard against him.

“You are worse than the demons!” he groused, then turned his head to look at Adrian who’d tensed up a little at his comment. “Come here then.”

 

The next morning, they set off to look for the matragun in earnest, leaving the main road and following meandering deer trails that skirted the edge of the forest. They found a sizeable patch by midafternoon in a meadow dotted with trees.

“Not at a crossroads like Sypha wanted but so far we don’t have any other options,” said Trevor.

“That would supposedly increase the potency but there doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with using ones growing elsewhere,” Adrian replied, frowning. “Most likely that is superstition masquerading as information, but it’s hard to tell.”

Adrian unfolded and read through the instructions given them by Sypha. “We’ll need to select a male plant, two, for good measure. You’ll have to dig around the root base giving it wide enough berth to be undamaged when dug up. The desired chthonic properties are all in the roots of course but we’ll need the leaves in good condition as well. I have to make a ring of iron filings first, to ensure the properties can’t escape and at sundown, we’ll stopper our ears before you dig them up, so we can’t hear them screaming and therefore die,” he finished with a smirk.

“That sounds ridiculous,” scoffed Trevor.

“It really does. Just be glad that Sypha isn’t asking you to extract the plants with your teeth,” Adrian smirked. “Apparently that is another approach.”

Adrian indicated which leaves belonged to male plants and Trevor selected two that looked like they were flourishing. While Trevor fetched the small spade they’d brought, Adrian shook a pouch of iron filings into a circle around the two plants Trevor had picked. Trevor then started digging wide and deep around the plants so that later it wouldn’t be too difficult to just pull them up. As he jabbed the spade into the earth, he snapped the leaf off a neighbouring plant and saw Adrian clap his hand to his left eye.

“You ok?”

“Juice from the leaf I suppose,” Adrian said, indicating the plant with his chin. “Stings. These plants have mind altering properties. I need some water to wash it out.”

Trevor grabbed Adrian’s canteen. “Get down, it’s easier if I do it.”

Adrian did as he was bid and lay down on his back. Trevor poured a gentle stream of water from the canteen into the affected eye while Adrian tried not to blink. Mutually deciding it was enough, Adrian got back up and dried his face with a cloth from his travel bag, while standing a little further away as Trevor continued digging.

Something occurred to Trevor. “You haven’t fed the vampire for a few days.”

“I’ll be ok,” answered Adrian still dabbing at his eye.

“I’m willing to share.” Trevor watched as Adrian looked at him and then lowered his head, some colour finding its way to his cheeks. He was curious about Adrian’s reaction but could think of nothing to say about it.

“Let’s talk about that when you’re healed,” Adrian finally replied.

 

When the digging was done and everything prepared, there was nothing to do but wait for the sun to go down. Trevor made himself comfortable, sitting with his legs out while leaning back against a tree.

Adrian grew restless and paced however, his brow creased in frustration. “The sun is so loud I can smell it and it’s intolerable,” he griped.

Trevor snorted. “Come into the shade then.” He suddenly found himself straddled and wondered what Adrian was doing until he saw his eyes. “Shit, your pupils are blown wide open!”

In lieu of a reply, Adrian started to lick and nibble at Trevor’s neck and exposed collar. “You are good to me,” Adrian whispered in his ear between nips at his skin.

“And you are fucking ridiculous,” laughed Trevor. “Stop it,” he said while making a half-hearted effort to push Adrian away, somehow instead circling his arms around Adrian’s waist and grinning at the thought of bringing this up once he was clear headed.

 

The effect the Matragun had on Adrian wore off before sundown and extracting the plants from the ground went smoothly. Nobody died. Trevor was admittedly shocked at the appearance of the roots, however. They looked like little creatures, little men, which apparently was the point. Adrian told him the homunculi would become alrauns that would function as talismans to keep him safe.

 

Heading back the next day with the plants stowed into buckets, they walked through mixed terrain in the direction of the castle at a brisk but enjoyable pace. Passing through some fields they came across an overgrown garden, long abandoned. There were raspberry canes grown wild and heavy with first fruit and they stopped for a snack. Trevor privately thought it incredibly amusing that a vampire would like fruit. He saw Adrian’s delight as he took his gloves and hood off and crouched down to pick some very ripe ones lower to the ground. He watched as Adrian savored the taste of each berry, getting some of the red juice on his lips and fingers before looking up at Trevor with wide golden eyes and a smile as though surprised to find himself caught enjoying something childish. Trevor thought he looked radiant.

It was then he realized just how serious this had gotten for him.

He’d reflected on Adrian’s suggestion of how to view the prophecy and it helped him make peace with it. He now wanted it to be true as that would mean he would survive and it wouldn’t stop him from making the decisions he now knew he would make.

 

 

 


	5. Erasing The Boundaries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trevor drinks the cure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter extension. This turned out to be wordier than I thought so broke it up and will post the last one within the week.  
> I'll just use the unknown chapters option next time. I feel like a bit of an asshat and it chafes :)

 

 

Sypha clattered down the stairs at high speed and ran towards them as they made their way into the castle’s main hall. Trevor saw that she was wearing the embroidered slippers he’d given her.

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re back!” she exclaimed, hugging one and the other and then trying for both at the same time. “I’m not used to being alone and I didn’t like it,” she said, resting her head on Trevor’s chest while pulling Adrian closer. 

“You are my family now. Don’t leave me again,” she scolded, giving each one another firm hug before freezing and then stepping back in shock. “Adrian!”

“Yes?” he asked cautiously, bringing his arms down from returning her hug.

“That big, dark, sad, aura that has been your constant companion – I can barely feel it!” She looked at him with wide eyes and saw his expression change from surprise at her declaration to a small but genuine smile. He glanced at Trevor, nothing more than an unconscious flick of the eyes but of course she noticed and looked at them both appraisingly.

“OK, tell me about your trip over lunch?” she said, leading them towards the kitchen. Pausing for just a moment she turned back to Trevor. “Trevor, what is that all over your neck?”

“What?” Trevor’s hand shot up to his throat. “Shit!” Turning to Adrian he silently mouthed, “ _What the fuck!”_ but Adrian pretended not to see and moved ahead to keep pace with Sypha who had resumed her walk to the kitchen.

“Uh, that matragun plant juice got in Adrian’s eye and…”

“It wasn’t actually a question I wanted answered,” Sypha said, raising her hand to stop him, without looking back.

Trevor glared at the back of Adrian’s head as he watched the man’s shoulders shake with mirth.

 

They ate while filling Sypha in on their successful errand and showed her the plants and dried herbs which met with Sypha’s approval.  Afterwards, Trevor and Adrian went to their respective quarters to clean up while Sypha stored the dried flowers and assembled what was required to make the talismans for later.

 

"Do you have time to talk?" Trevor asked when he found her alone in the study later that afternoon.

"I do," she answered with a smile, gesturing in invitation.

Trevor walked into the room and stood uncomfortably for a moment before sitting at the corner of the table, near her end.  “Adrian and I, we figured some things out,” he started. “About that curse. It seems that it was me, my thoughts specifically, that made it worse for him. It’s not that the black magic was unstable,” he continued, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

“Your thoughts?” she asked, surprise evident in her wide eyes.

“Yes. Certain types of thoughts.” This wasn’t getting any easier. “I’m attracted to him Sypha,” he said quietly, dropping his gaze.

“You don’t owe me an explanation,” she answered.

“I think I do. And I want to explain, if you care to hear it.”

“…Yes.”

“Adrian says he has feelings for me too, has had them from before the curse.”

Sypha gave him a nod. Her expression was neutral and she didn’t seem surprised, which in turn surprised Trevor a little bit.

“And with Adrian’s help, I’ve made peace with that prophecy and I actually do want to believe it.”

At this, Sypha looked shocked. “You do?”

“I do. It means I get to live and it means that you continue to put up with me. Despite all my bullshit failings and the fact that you deserve infinitely better.”

Sypha’s expression softened for a moment into an almost smile but she then schooled her features into something more serious. “What of Adrian?”

Trevor took a moment before replying carefully. “I’ve never been in a relationship before but it is one, to me. I don’t know how long he’ll want to stick around,” he said, thinking of the time when the black magic would be lifted and Adrian would be free of its tether to him. “But I feel like being with him is the first real decision I made for just myself.”

Sypha said nothing and Trevor missed how she would usually step in and help get the words out when he stumbled trying to express his emotions but he couldn’t expect her to do that now.

“To think you’d accept a situation like this is absurd, I know. You gave up your magic for me. You saved my life and this is how I’m repaying you, asking you to possibly share your future with your husband’s lover.”

Sypha didn’t reply immediately and he just couldn’t guess how she was receiving this at all.

“What do you want for yourself Sypha?” He was ashamed to think he had never really asked her, always getting his back up about his prophesied fate and letting his feelings about it taint their relationship.

“You did save my life twice Trevor. I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you. Sadly, that prophecy has made you feel as though you were somehow bound to me but you don’t owe me anything.  I’ve never expected or asked for a promise from you. I’m here because I’m your friend and I care about you. If the prophecy is true then it’s true and it’ll work out and if it’s not then I have no business interfering in your life by expecting things.”

Sypha covered Trevor’s hands with hers and squeezed.

“As for Adrian, he’s lost everyone who loved him and being what he is, the odds of him meeting someone who will accept him are low.  When he told me his feelings for you,”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, of course you talked about this,” Trevor said, snatching his hands back and crossing his arms petulantly.

“It was a matter of honour. He knew my thoughts about our future and he wanted to be honest with me,” Sypha said earnestly. “I had to witness his horrible suffering because of the curse. I realized some of that suffering actively had something to do with you but I didn’t guess it was your thoughts. I couldn’t know if you would reciprocate his feelings, but I felt he at least had to try.”

Trevor frowned but nodded.

“I do care for him very much,” Sypha said, her large blue eyes making him forget why he felt piqued a moment ago. “You know, if this is a question of love, I can feel love for more than one person. I loved both my parents. I love my grandfather. I love Adrian and I love you,” she said, cheeks reddening. “In different ways perhaps but all genuine and all intense and none at the expense of the other.”

“But it would be an abnormal situation,” said Trevor.

“There’s nothing normal about us.”

“True,” he said with a smile. “But I meant in terms of relationship dynamics.”

“I’ve thought about this. I think as a Speaker, things like material possessions and concepts of ownership and emotions like jealousy, they are quite different from those of others. I’m not sure I would feel jealousy the same way to begin with and on top of that, it’s Adrian. He’s a supernatural being in a unique class of his own and as such, I just can’t be jealous of him. Plus, he’s become my dear friend and I want him to be happy. I want you to be happy. That’s what I want Trevor.”

“Someone has to look out for your happiness otherwise you’ll just give it away to the third creature that comes along and looks at you with sad eyes, reflecting unmet needs, after me and Adrian,” Trevor said gently.

Sypha laughed and clasped his hands again which had migrated back to the table. “Trevor, you’ve been looking out for my happiness all along. You prove yourself every day even though you don’t need to. I have actually never felt more cherished than I do when I am with you… sometimes excluding what comes out of your mouth,” she qualified. And we’re not even together as a couple. I love you as a friend, I would love you as more. Just so long as you are in my life, and there is room in your heart for me, it doesn’t matter.

Trevor grabbed her hands and kissed them. “Sypha, you’re too good for me.”

“Yes, this is true,” she said with a grin. “You’ll just have to work harder to make it up to me. And Adrian too. He’s also too good for you.”

 

That evening they got to work preparing the matragun plant roots to be the talismans. It wasn’t very complicated. The man shaped roots were separated from the leaves of the plants and scrubbed clean. Each was wrapped with a small strip of cloth cut from an old shirt of Trevor’s, the effect looking like they were wearing cute little sashes. It was decided that one would be an amulet for health and safety and the other for healing. Sypha taught Trevor how imbue them with intention. Each day he would have to meditate a bit with them and his thoughts would become the bridge between the physical talismans and the magic that would eventually fill them. It would take several weeks, maybe a month, for the roots to dry by which time they would be fully charged with intent and would be ready for use.

Trevor followed Sypha’s direction faithfully, after all, his life could depend upon it. He kept the roots in a drawer in his bedroom and took them out each day for the meditation session. Within a few days he’d become pretty fond of the little root men and had named them Agni and Burtgang.

Meanwhile, Sypha had been dismayed to realize the white magic spell she was looking for to heal Trevor didn’t exist as such. Like black magic, white magic’s power lies with intention but unlike necromancy, which could deliver immediate results if required, white magic didn’t. There was often no immediate confirmation of its success; in many cases one might not know if it had worked until much later.

Additionally, the spell might require repetitive casting over days or weeks to compound its effectiveness. If the black magic that was holding Trevor together was removed, it would need to be replaced immediately or he’d die. The only way around it would be to have the white magic spell in place and functioning well before it was needed, but there would be no proof that it was working until the time came when it was needed. Sypha could definitely see the appeal of black magic, the stains on the soul aside.

She already knew how to raise and direct energy through intent and the spoken word but there were words that could act as magical shortcuts just as there were words for the true names of things, before language existed, that would increase the spell caster’s power and effectiveness. The words for this situation would need to be identified. Harder though, would be the silence of the mind that was required. Silence meant removing associations with all other language when the time came, in order to remove the boundaries that language creates and allow the unimpeded flow of magical energy. Sypha realized this would be the hardest thing she had ever attempted and she was terrified of failing.

∞

After much debate, Trevor decided he’d like to try the cure as soon as it was available rather than wait until the black magic was about to expire. Both Sypha and Adrian had trouble with his decision but ultimately realised it was for selfish reasons, trying to keep Trevor safe as long as possible so that they didn’t risk losing him sooner than necessary.

Sypha found the words she needed to cast the spell in order to heal Trevor and she did it on him daily in order to build its power, for a month.

Adrian brewed the potion that would rid Trevor of the black magic.

It was now mid August and they were ready.

∞

Trevor drank the liquid. It tasted vile and contained cat hairs which stuck unpleasantly in his throat. He had to override his gag reflex with willpower but got it down, feeling it burn a trail down to his stomach. Sypha and Adrian were looking expectantly at him but except for the lingering awful taste, the tickle of cat hair and heat pooled in his gut, he didn’t feel anything yet.

They didn’t speak. Everything had been said. Every action considered and response arranged. Agni and Burtgang were safely stowed in Trevor’s pockets. They sat on chairs in a mostly empty room surrounded by towels and buckets and whatever else they thought might be useful when not knowing what to expect.

Trevor leaned forward, elbows on his knees and forearms hanging loosely crossed at the wrist, trying to relax.  He could see that Sypha was intensely nervous, gripping at her arms, jiggling her foot, shifting in her seat. By contrast, Adrian sat motionless, hands clasped before him, leaning over his knees and staring at Trevor, but the tension of the skin over his knuckles belied a grip that was anything but relaxed.

Trevor started to feel what he thought might be a bit of heartburn.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Not that I don’t have faith that this will work out, but _just in case_ , I give you permission to not just make a death mask but a full body mask, so you know, everyone will have a chance to appreciate this exquisite body,” he said, indicating his form.

“Truly? Those are your last words before facing the unknown?” scoffed Adrian as he quirked his lips into a crooked smile.

“Or maybe, if there’s enough lucre in your moneysacks Adrian, you could commission a marble statue of me.”

Sypha snorted. “Adrian definitely doesn’t have enough money to bribe an artist to do that. No one does.”

Trevor went on, undeterred. “And, once this glorious example of male perfection is immortalized, you can charge admission of the peasantry to gawk at my likeness in awe.” Trevor chuckled at his own words as he scratched an itch in the corner of his eye. “There you go. I just gave you a revenue stream.”

He saw his finger come away with a black substance on it that felt grainy and semi-liquid between his fingers. Grabbing a cloth from the assorted things stacked near him, he dabbed at the corner of his eye and the fabric came away with black sludge on it that smelled incredibly foul.

“I guess it’s starting.”

Within moments the sensation of heartburn increased and Trevor could feel acid and bile rising.

Sypha gasped. “It’s coming out your nose.” She quickly handed him a handkerchief.

Trevor could feel his nasal passages being filled but not before gagging from the smell he’d liken to shit covered rotting corpses.

“This might be the worst I’ve ever smelled,” he ground out as globules of sludge dripped from his nose. He tried to clear his nasal passages by blowing it and while the substance was forced out, there was more to take its place and he had to start breathing through his mouth.

“Ears too now,” Adrian said, getting up to fetch a towel and help clean it off.

Trevor was starting to get concerned about the sensation in his throat. He felt his gorge fill and then sludge push up into his mouth. He was on his knees retching black poison into a bucket moments later. He could feel Adrian with a hand on his back, wiping at his ears and eyes but it was getting harder to see as black smears filled his vision. Soon the sounds outside his body were muffled as his ear canals became plugged with slow flowing ooze.

Trevor started to panic as getting a breath in became impossible without drawing the sludge into his airways and lungs. He was soon choking, Adrian trying to help by hitting his back. Vomiting again, Trevor tried to time his breathing but the volume of sludge coming out of him was too great. He realized it was also affecting his bowels. He could no longer see or hear. Only the pounding of his heart and the rushing of his blood was loud inside his head while the poison sought a way out of his body.

In a moment of clarity, multiple thoughts crowded Trevor’s consciousness. It looked like the treatment had worked but the by-product was going to kill him. He thought it unfair that his friends had worked so hard to save him and now they would be left with this terrible memory to bear instead. He thought of beautiful, fiery Sypha, pouring her everything into saving him, her single-minded focus and selflessness, awe inspiring. He thought of ethereal, refined Adrian, with whom he had shared many firsts and who would be released from the curse but also the daily sex to help him bear it and Trevor felt a selfish pang of regret.

Brain starved for air and trachea clogged with the horrific sludge, Trevor soon lost consciousness and slipped from the world.

∞

The first sensation he felt was cold. Goosebumps quickly turned to shivers and grew into whole body convulsions, tension cramping his muscles, intense discomfort helping to slam things back into focus. There was a pressure against his back and hips and around his torso and it tightened, keeping him in place, restricting movement. The pressure shifted and Trevor realized he was sitting between Adrian’s legs, Adrian’s front against his back with arms across his chest firmly holding him tight, chin resting heavily on Trevor’s shoulder. He groaned in relief and sagged against Adrian.

The light touch smoothing his brow and hair had to be Sypha. With some difficulty he cracked his eyes open and squinted against the harsh light. His vision was bleary but he could make out Sypha’s concerned face hovering above him and then that he was wet and naked and Adrian wet, barefoot and clothed and they were both in the tub of the bathing room he and Sypha used.

“How?” The question came out in a hoarse croak.

Adrian’s voice, low and close to his ear, vibrated through his back as he spoke softly, bringing Trevor up to speed.

“We thought we’d lost you but the talismans did their job. The effects of the purge transferred to them when you lost consciousness. Both were destroyed instantly. It’s a good thing we had made two.”

Sypha’s voice, sounding very tired, cut in. “Adrian also knew to stick a piece of cane down your windpipe so that you could keep breathing. A family heirloom might have been sacrificed.”

Trevor felt Adrian squeeze him tighter for a moment and he brought one hand up to rest over Adrian’s, and the other over Sypha’s which was still stroking his hair, closing his eyes for a moment. He soon felt Sypha’s hand slip away and a sound from her alerted him that she was unwell.

“Excuse me,” she said while grabbing a bucket and wobbling to the other end of the bathing room, before beginning to vomit. She held up a hand at their questioning looks. “Just nerves,” before starting to bawl, stopping only for gulps of air and more rounds of retching.

“That… was a difficult experience, for all of us,” Adrian said to Trevor, giving him another squeeze. “Come, let’s get you warm. We ran out of hot water long ago.”

Adrian untangled himself and rising, lifted Trevor up to stand in the tub. Grabbing a towel, he stood behind Trevor, one arm wrapped around his chest, firmly supporting him while the other toweled Trevor dry. He was too weak to do anything himself.

“Sypha? …you ok?” Trevor asked, finding it hard to make his mouth and tongue cooperate.

“I’m so… happy,” she said in between bouts of emptying her stomach, waving off his concern with one arm. “We… did it!”

“We did it,” Adrian agreed.

Adrian climbed out of the tub, his wet clothes plastered to his skin, and wrapped Trevor in a new, dry towel. Before he registered what was happening, Trevor had been scooped out of the tub and his feet gently touched the floor. Adrian arranged Trevor’s arm over his shoulder and firmly gripping his waist, walked with Trevor as he, leaning heavily, slowly managed to put one shaky foot in front of the other. He was grateful to Adrian for not just carrying him – an obvious concession to his dignity.

“I’ll come back for you in a moment,” Adrian said to Sypha.

“Don’t… hurry,” she bit out before retching.

Despite his extreme exhaustion, Trevor made it to his bed and with Adrian’s assistance, slipped under the feather duvet, falling asleep moments after sinking his head into the soft pillow.

 

When he awoke it was dark save for the firelight from the hearth. Turning his head, he could make out Adrian’s pale form on the chair in the corner of the room.

“Hey,” Trevor said groggily.

“Hey.” Yellow eyes blinked at him.

“That chair isn’t comfortable… Why don’t you go to bed, or better yet, come to this one?”

“Because then I wouldn’t be watching over you.”

“You could watch me from over here.”

“I gave Sypha my word. She wouldn’t have gone to rest otherwise.”

“Fine.” Trevor squinted. “Did you even change out of your wet clothes?”

“I’m all right.”

“Bloody hell Adrian,” Trevor groused.

Adrian got up and came to stand beside the bed. Raising his hand, he gently traced Trevor’s cheek and bottom lip before leaning down for a light kiss.

“Trevor, shut the fuck up and go back to sleep before you undo all the healing.”

With a grin, Trevor shut the fuck up and soon fell asleep again.

 

When he next awoke it was to find bright light streaming through the window and Sypha sitting on the uncomfortable chair.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“I should be asking you,” she said with a smile, getting up and coming over to him.

“You’ve given me my life back Sypha. I’m appropriately, ridiculously happy and grateful.”

“Me too,” she said beaming at him, months of worry and stress erased from her countenance. “Just no almost dying again, ok Trevor?”

“I promise to try,” he teased, chuckling at her frown. “OK, now we just need to get your magic back,” he said, not wasting any time.

Trevor filled her in on his knowledge of the sex magic she was planning to use to draw her powers back. He had finished the book that Adrian had given him and had been pleased to find his ability to read Latin had improved greatly. Sypha had looked surprised, embarrassed and then thankful in equal turns as he offered his assistance if she wanted it, when the time came. Cheeks aflame, she accepted.

∞

Adrian was straddling his hips, shirtless, trying to remove the same from Trevor when Trevor brought up the blood drinking thing again. Adrian froze, looking positively unsure how to reply.

“Not something you want to do? With me?” asked Trevor.

“No. I mean yes, I do want to,” he answered, flustered.

He had not often seen Adrian have trouble expressing himself. “What’s the issue then?” He took a page from Adrian’s book, saying nothing more, staring at Adrian while waiting for him to respond. Let it not be said he couldn’t learn.

“I’ve never done it,” Adrian finally answered.

“Isn’t that like your one job as a vampire?” asked Trevor, slightly stunned.

“I would never do it to just feed.”

“Then why would you do it?”

“…It would be a meaningful act for me with someone I deeply care for.”

Now Trevor was confused as he’d rather thought this whole relationship thing was going in that direction. “Don’t I have a shot?” he asked, trying not to let hurt colour his tone.

“Trevor, once Sypha gets her magic back you’ll be on your way to continue your lives, now that you are well again. As you should be,” he said, eyes leaving Trevor’s to focus intently on the blanket under them.

“Adrian. Look at me,” said Trevor, waiting until Adrian turned his eyes back to him.  “What we did, leaving you before, that was unforgiveable.”

“Not this again…” Adrian said, scowling.

“Wait, hear me out. We left a friend who’d lost their family, their support, their connection with the outside world that wouldn’t be easy to navigate as a half breed who doesn’t fully belong in either world.”

“You’re terrible at this,” Adrian told him blandly.

“I’m getting to the point, hold on. You sacrificed so others wouldn’t have to and we didn’t get your back. Out of stupidity. Ignorance if you’re being charitable. We will never make that mistake again and you have my sincerest apology.”

“I don’t want your apology and I was fine.”

“Right, that’s why you went to sleep instead of living.”

“I had my reasons and I could survive just fine Belmont. I certainly don’t need you.”

“Surviving is not living Tepes,” said Trevor a bit harshly _._ “And of course, you don’t _need_ anyone. But I’m hoping you want me.”

“Unless you’re an even bigger fool than previously established then you already know I do,” answered Adrian, still prickly. “But how do you actually picture this going? Once you have children you will need to provide a safe world for them.”

“And?”

“What.”

“Seems pretty safe here.” At Adrian’s incredulous expression he continued. “But if you’d prefer, we could build nearby instead. I don’t see the problem?”

“I’m not sure I pictured a life as someone’s dirty secret.”

Trevor was offended. “I would never impose that on you. When they’re old enough to ask, they’ll get the truth.”

“That’s unreasonable Trevor. You’d need to give them some semblance of normalcy if they should hope to fit into society. I don’t have a role to play.”

“Just to be clear, because you’ve obviously forgotten, you’re talking about future parents who are an excommunicated, unrepentant bi-sexual with a thing for a certain long toothed monster and a sorceress Speaker who also has a problematic relationship with religion and is an arsonist in her spare time,” Trevor said, emphasizing his points by enumerating them on his fingers.

Adrian gave him a long stare down his nose from his perch on Trevor’s hips. “This all sounds incredibly naïve and facile. Once again, you’re going to rush into something without knowing what you’re doing.”

“That is what I do, yes, and it has worked for me thus far. I should remind you it is probably one of the qualities that has you unable to keep your dick in your pants. You love it.”

“I most certainly do not. It’s one of your worst qualities Belmont and one that will get you killed,” replied Adrian, crossing his arms.

Trevor thought he should look ridiculous, affecting a haughty air while still straddling him, ramrod straight and half naked, trouser laces undone, yet he was totally pulling it off.

“Do you really think, in order to be a better parent, I should suddenly change who I am and conform to society’s expectations which I have mostly no respect for _as you know_? Do you really expect Sypha to give up magic again once she gets it back? Your argument is flawed, vampire. We couldn’t be _us_ in your scenario.”

Adrian seemed to consider what Trevor had said before replying. “My own experience and my parent’s unconventional relationship is exactly what gives me pause,” Adrian said, carefully dismounting Trevor. “I need to think.”

Trevor sighed. “Well, you turned out pretty ok. But take all the time you need,” and he meant it sincerely. Adrian nodded at him and grabbing his shirt, closed the door quietly behind him.

Trevor hoped he hadn’t made a fool out of himself by wanting more. Adrian had seemed supportive; encouraging him to see past his bias and embrace that prophecy and Trevor assumed he was ok with such an arrangement. Perhaps he had misread everything and Adrian had never been interested in anything longer term after all. Trevor picked up his clothes and got dressed.

He spent the day outside, trying to keep his mind occupied with chores but he couldn’t shake the mounting sadness he felt at the thought of possibly not having Adrian in his life for much longer.

Later that night, after dinner with Sypha, and coming from a long, meditative soak in the tub, Trevor entered his room to find Adrian waiting for him. He was sitting in the uncomfortable chair and had been reading and was now regarding Trevor with a serious expression that made his heart clench. Adrian stood, pocketed his book and walked past Trevor out the door, stopping some distance down the hall and turning back as if surprised to find himself unaccompanied.

“Aren’t you coming?”

And damn if Trevor didn’t feel like a happy dog, practically tripping over his wagging tail to comply although he did his best to hide it.

He’d regained some of his dignity by the time they reached Adrian’s room only to lose it again when he was pushed against the wall, Adrian giving him a bruising kiss with hints of sharp teeth, fingers pressing hard into the soft flesh under his jaw, that had Trevor moaning uncontrollably. How was it that this man managed to undo him so thoroughly every time? Trevor had all but given up on any existing notions he had of his behaviour regarding his bearing and control when it came to sex with Adrian. Every time, all his constructs were pulled away, revealing him to be a needy, helpless mess, begging to be touched by that cold, hard, inhumanly graceful body and dying for Adrian’s particular brand of polite domination. Yet Adrian was also demonstrably affectionate, now that the curse was gone.  He was always brushing his fingers over Trevor’s, or giving him a light touch on the back or shoulders when passing or bumping up against him when standing near each other, not to mention the kisses. Trevor supposed the thrill of the fear of being mercilessly exposed for who he was combined with the tenderness shown him made for an experience akin to a drug he couldn’t live without.

In a short time, he was on his back in Adrian’s bed, being pressed into the mattress by Adrian who was braced over him, filling his mouth with tongue and fang.

They stripped each other of their clothes before Adrian wordlessly urged him up and turned him around to face the headboard, sitting up on his knees. Adrian knelt behind him, Trevor in between his thighs, and caressed his back and shoulders with one hand while the other found its way to Trevor’s cock and started to languidly stroke it. Feeling Adrian’s cock hard against his back, Trevor reached for it but his hand was batted away and then Adrian’s iron grip kept him still as one arm wrapped around his chest. 

“Are you ready?” Adrian’s low voice whispered in Trevor’s ear.

Trevor was sure Adrian would hear his heart, pounding so loudly and threatening to escape his body. He felt Adrian’s breath before he felt the drag of sharp teeth. Goosebumps erupted all down his neck and arms. Dimly, he was aware that this was wrong and his body’s survival instincts were kicking in but he didn’t care. He’d never wanted the wrong thing more and instead clutched at Adrian’s arm, holding on tightly, giving him tacit agreement by angling his head to expose more of his neck.

Adrian had once asked him why he wanted this and he hadn’t been able to put it into words at the time. He was definitely seeking to feel the storied euphoria of a vampire bite since he had a chance to do it with a _safe_ vampire but what he really wanted was to give something back to Adrian. Their relationship was only a few months old but Trevor felt he’d already been gifted with everything he could desire. Go-to-the-wall friendship, incredible sex, knowledge of himself and a type of security in his attachment that he hadn’t felt, perhaps since he was a child. And definitely feelings that promised more. He knew it for his own part and it would appear that Adrian felt the same since he was about to do this thing that held so much significance for him.

Any further thoughts Trevor might have had disappeared when the press of fangs became twin points of sharp pain as his flesh yielded. Gasping, Trevor was surprised by how much it hurt but he quickly became distracted by the feel of a tongue coaxing blood from his neck and then cool lips locking around the injury and gently sucking. Trevor felt true fear flood his body, his senses heightened by the pain and the realization that he was being held in an embrace he wouldn’t be able to break free of. Adrian remained eerily silent and that didn’t help, and neither did it help when Trevor felt the body pressed against him begin to ripple and change. He felt the claws extending against his skin where they clutched his chest and while logically it made sense that blood would draw the monster he knew out, it did nothing to ease the fear that perhaps he had made a mistake trusting a monster.

Just as his fear was reaching sufficient levels to incite some action, Trevor felt it. The first tendrils of a new sensation bumped his consciousness and then, fuck…FUCK. It _was_ euphoric. A tide of pure, uncut ecstasy washed over him, leaving him gasping as his senses overloaded, unable to process that much stimulation. He was aware he couldn’t control the stream of moans that came out of his mouth. He was aware that Adrian had started to stroke his cock again, faster, firmer, while still sucking from his neck and gripping him tightly, providing pleasure and pain in exhilarating extremes. He was aware he was pleading but not specifying what he wanted while holding on to Adrian just as tightly. And then… it felt like his body melted away until it was just his soul, floating up high amongst the stars and he was fucking the universe while getting endless warmth and love poured into him. And then… his climax tore him open, light and heat bursting from his chest and groin and it proved to be too much; he heard himself shout, hoarse and jubilant and just before his consciousness was stolen away, Trevor found he didn’t care and willingly succumbed to the rapture waiting for him in the darkness.

He woke up to yellow eyes peering down at him, his brow and scar being traced by a gentle hand. He knew he was slack faced and must look completely blownminded but _damn_. He couldn’t even speak for a long time.

Finally, after a long while, he was able to marshal up some words. “That was supposed to be about me giving _you_ something…”

Adrian’s lips curled into a lopsided, fond smile. “You did. Believe me.”

Trevor exhaled and glanced in roughly the direction of Adrian’s crotch. “I don’t think you even got to…”

Adrian laughed. “I can only do so many things at once. Anyway, that was…enough. It was…incredible.”

“It really was,” answered Trevor, bringing the vampire down for a long, slow kiss that he hoped would convey all that he felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Agni and Burtgang are weapons from the Castlevania games with power and health related buffs.


	6. Moon Strategies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sypha attempts to get her magic back. Trevor helps.

 

 

Trevor thought he might be experiencing a pretty severe case of performance anxiety. His palms were sweating into the blankets he carried and he felt unusually nervous but did his best to hide it. Sypha seemed more nervous than him however, walking silently beside him, her bearing stiff and uneasy as they headed outside. He hated to think how awkward, not to mention disappointing this could be if things didn’t go well. If Sypha wasn’t able to summon her magic back.

He had offered to “practice” but the sex magic book claimed that there was more energy output in certain situations. The whole point of this endeavor was to boost Sypha’s energy to be able to recall her magical powers. Attempting to summon magic, which in its natural form is elemental and wild, with no power but intent was near futile; there needed to be enough power to draw it and then strength to initially wield it. One of the book’s claims was that a very successful encounter with a new partner would have a stronger effect than that of a repeated experience. Trevor supposed it was logical what with heightened senses and all that in an unknown situation so they had refrained, deciding to play the best cards available to them. Now, Trevor hoped with all his heart that this would somehow go miraculously well and he’d be able to perform, giving Sypha a good experience.

It was early September and almost time for harvest season. Summer temperatures still lingered however and the night was pleasantly warm. Sypha had chosen the date because of the full moon and luck had brought them a clear sky, the moon still large and low as it started its journey across the skies. The energy received from the moon would be amplified on this night and provide Sypha with another boost.

They made their way to a clearing between fields at the back of the castle. Reaching it, they arranged the blankets Trevor had carried on the ground and each gave the other an encouraging smile before starting to disrobe. Neither had spoken yet and although there was definitely a nervous tension between them, the serene and beautiful night helped to dispel some of that.

Trevor had only just pulled his shirt over his head when he saw Sypha standing before him already completely naked, her robes pooled on the ground around her.

So… not shy about nudity then, Trevor thought. She had her back to him and her face was turned to the moon, her lithe silhouette traced by its light.

He quickly removed the rest of his clothing and seeing she hadn’t yet turned around, looked away and concentrated on the physical world around him in order to feel more relaxed.

There was a slight breeze tickling his bare skin in a pleasurable way and rustling the tall, barley grasses in the fields all around them. The background symphony of crickets and occasional nightingale song made the land seem to pulse with life. Trevor imagined he could feel the moon’s rays on his skin in the same way one can feel the sun except instead of warmth it was a cool sensation, bathing him in the silver light that brought the shadowed world around him into view.

He turned to find Sypha watching him, her big eyes open wide and expressing uncertainty. Stepping forward, he reached for her hair and gently ran a hand through her curls while sliding his other arm around her back to bring her closer. He then tipped up her chin and brought his head down to kiss her, tentatively and gently. He felt her slowly lean into the kiss, letting out a soft sound as she brought her arms around him.

She was so tiny in his arms, now that those voluminous robes were off. He definitely didn’t think of her as small or frail, she gave off way too much fiery energy and power for anyone to make that mistake. It was a nice contradiction though, as he enjoyed the feel of her soft hands sliding up his back to his neck.

“Ok so far?” Trevor asked, pulling back slightly from their kiss.

She crushed her mouth to his in answer.

Soon he was kissing her deeply, pressing her against him, marveling at the different emotions she inspired in him, compared to what he felt with Adrian. With Sypha it felt organic; the heat between them, and there was a softness, a comfort, or rather an absence of fear. He felt as though he were sinking into a beautiful, primal dream that would let him experience the heights of pleasure from a safe place.

They kissed like that for a long time, slowly exploring each other with their mouths, tongues and hands for the first time. Eventually Sypha broke away and kneeling down on the blanket, flushed and beautiful, looked up at Trevor. In the moonlight her skin looked like porcelain and he stood for a moment in admiration before kneeling down to join her.

She was truly beautiful. He ran his hands over every inch of her body drawing out blissful sighs from her. He urged her down onto her back and replaced his hands with his mouth in order to worship her better. He kissed her breasts, leaving nothing untouched and then trailed kisses down to her belly. He moved lower to kiss her knees while stroking her calves, causing her to stretch her legs with sensuous grace. Pushing out on the leg he was holding, Trevor kissed the inside of her knee and worked his way up her inner thigh.

“I should be doing something,” Sypha said while struggling to sit up and reach Trevor with her hands but he gently pushed her down.

“Yes, enjoying, I hope,” he said between kisses.

“Oh yesss,” she sighed and made no further attempt, happily yielding to his hands and mouth.

“Have you ever been kissed here?” he asked at the juncture of her thighs, his breath warm against her skin.

“No?”

“May I?”

“Yes?”

And he did kiss her, softly at first. Small feathery kisses that eased some of the tension he could feel she was holding herself with. These were followed by fuller kisses, with just a tease of the tongue that had her jolting from the unexpected stimulation and making a surprised sound, her breath hitching before levelling off into soft moans. Soon she was tossing her head as he used his fingers to help part her sex and give his tongue better access, bringing her to near unbearable levels of bliss from overwhelmed nerve endings. He was encouraged by how responsive she was to his attempts. She was so enthusiastic and wet that any fears he’d had about Sypha not enjoying this were clearly unfounded.

Taken over by the sensations she was experiencing, she arched her back and curled her fingers into his hair. “It’s too much!” she cried out before reaching her peak and stuttering out a gasp, eyes crushed shut and then open wide, along with her mouth, unmoving for a long moment before coming back down and releasing a long, shaky sigh.

Eventually she looked to Trevor who was sitting up and watching her from in between her legs, her wetness glistening on his face.  She made to raise herself up but Trevor shook his head.

“Let me?”

“Ok,” she answered, eyes wide.

Bending back down he braced himself over her and kissed, licked and nipped at her breasts and nipples. He felt the moment when she surrendered again, her body completely relaxing into his touch and he hummed contentedly, the vibrations affecting Sypha instantly. She brought her knees up and then lowered her legs again, angling her hips in an effort to find a point of friction. Shifting his weight, Trevor’s hand found its way between her legs again, fingers working to stroke those nerve endings back to a euphoric state. She moaned needily, her fingers tangling in his hair again as she closed her eyes to ride another cresting wave.

“Trevor, I’m…again!...oh!”

This time, as Trevor watched Sypha ride out her climax, he took hold of himself, hard and aching, and stroked, just to help ease the need a little. Soon, soft hands joined his and explored the tender skin, tracing the veins on his cock and finding the wetness dripping from him. He watched, a silent curse falling from his mouth, as Sypha carefully tasted it by putting the tip of her finger on her tongue, all curiosity. Next, she reached further, stroking down to the base of his cock and behind to his balls, gently touching his skin before wrapping her hand around them. He couldn’t contain the groan or his need.

“Sypha.”

She smiled up at him through her eyelashes and then lay back, spreading her legs a little. He fell over her in an instant, kicking her legs apart wider with his knees and positioning himself at her entrance, not being able to wait any longer. The heat, the wetness, the desire, it was all incredible and Trevor didn’t think he’d last very long. He started to push in, just a little at a time and was surprised, and he thought Sypha was too, when another orgasm tore through her. She was grasping his arms with incredible strength, arching into him while crying out. He couldn’t wait any longer and pushed all the way in, gasping at the sensations as he thrust to completion.

 

Trevor got up and looked fondly to Sypha, who lay starfished on the ground.

“That was…the best,” she said to him, looking dazed.

“I completely agree but don’t you need to be doing some summoning?” he grinned while wiggling the fingers of his extended hand at her.

She somewhat reluctantly accepted the help and got up before nodding and assuming a determined expression.

Sypha stood in the middle of the clearing, arms outstretched and face to the moon. She took a deep breath and called for her magic by its true name. She addressed the earth and the moon and requested passage for her magic so that it could return to her. Again, she called for her magic by its true name. The crickets had quieted and the moment grew long and heavy with silence, even the wind had stilled. Cold stars, witness to millennia of human folly, winked overhead as the moon continued her trajectory. Sypha stood, eyes closed and unmoving for a very long time.

A small breeze picked up, swirling gently around their ankles and agitating the grasses around them. Trevor moved away to the edge of the clearing so as not to interfere in some unforeseen way.

He could feel something like an unseen energy, or potential to be energy, begin to vibrate all around them. The grasses started to sway, gently at first but then more forcefully, bending under pressure from what was quickly becoming a strong wind.

There was a sound in the distance. Trevor didn’t know what it was: a loud, rushing, cracking noise. He eventually realized something large was moving through the fields and drawing near. Then he realized that it was coming from all directions and moving towards them at increasing speed. Trevor could see the tall barley grass being bent in the distance, snapping and crushing sounds following its wake as something moved closer until it reached the edge of the clearing and, having no detectable form, slammed into him, before exiting through him. He saw Sypha’s body react as she was buffeted on all sides by the same unseen force, looking as though she was taking heavy blows. Trevor would be afraid for her except that when it had passed through his body, he had felt its nature. It was raw, ancient, primitive yet divine, exhilarating and felt like limitless potential. One could feel like a god wielding this, Trevor thought. How had Sypha ever given it up for him?

It ended. Sypha sagged a little, bending over to rest her hands on her knees. The wind had stilled and a few crickets started up. Trevor walked over to Sypha and crouched down in front of her, looking at her with concern. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and Trevor wondered if perhaps it hadn’t worked until he saw the biggest smile light up her face. Moments later he was swinging her around by the waist as she cried and laughed with pure joy.

Testing out her magic, Sypha released fireballs and waves of ice shards, with no regard as to where they fell until Trevor pointed out that she’d set a field on fire. She suffocated it with sheets of melting ice but not before a large swath had been destroyed. She seemed unconcerned though and they started the walk back to the castle, Trevor carrying their clothes and the blankets while Sypha happily summoned every form of ice and fire she knew.

As they neared the castle, Trevor saw a light in one of the windows hundreds of feet up. Sypha followed his gaze and shouted for Adrian, Trevor joining in, until a silhouette stood framed by the window light.

“Adrian! Come down! Come help me celebrate!” Sypha yelled while conjuring some fireballs and throwing them high into the air while juggling them.

Adrian disappeared from view for a moment and then he was jumping out the window and floating down. While Trevor pulled his breeches back on, he watched as Sypha conjured fireballs and ice shards simultaneously while cackling with unrestrained glee. He then watched as Adrian descended elegantly, the picture of control and otherworldly beauty as his hair streamed out around him. Trevor chuckled at his friends’ eccentricities and it really hit him then that they were truly his partners and that he was beyond blessed to have them in his life. His throat tightened as he struggled not to choke up about it.

Reaching the ground, Adrian strode towards them and Sypha, disappearing her magic show, ran to him. She jumped up and Adrian grabbed her bridal style, and if he was surprised to have an armful of naked friend, he didn’t show it, just giving her a warm smile and congratulations.

She filled him in on what happened, not sparing any details. “Adrian! I had no idea…three times!” she whispered conspiratorially while kicking up her dangling feet. Turning her head to give Trevor a sly look she continued in a slightly louder whisper. “You will have to share him! Is it like that for you too? That good?”

Adrian flicked his eyes at Trevor and nodded to Sypha. “He’s already unbearably cocky about it,” he said, keeping his voice low.

“Hey! I’m right here,” said Trevor affecting mock indignation.

“We’ll have to make a schedule!” Sypha answered, eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Do you want your robes?” Trevor asked, starting to feel heat on his cheeks and eager to change the subject.

“No! No clothes and don’t you dare come at me with any shoes! I want to soak up as much moon energy as possible,” she said while wriggling out of Adrian’s arms. Once her feet were on the ground, she turned to face him with a somber expression. “I’m sorry Adrian, I set your field on fire but I put it out.”

He looked up and surveyed the moonlit land. “Seems like there’s still quite a lot that could be burned.”

Sypha looked at him with so much gratitude before dipping her head and raising his hand to her mouth to kiss the back of it as a gentleman might. Turning to Trevor, she pulled his head down by the collar and placed a kiss on his mouth before sashaying off, arms raised high as though gathering up magic directly from the air.

“That went rather well it seems,” said Adrian, smiling through his understatement.

Trevor let out the sigh of relief he’d been holding in. “Don’t know if I was ever so nervous about my abilities. Fighting night hordes had nothing on this.”

Adrian turned his head closer to Trevor’s ear. “I don’t know why you’d be nervous. Your...talents are evident in all you do. I hope I haven’t kept my appreciation of them too restrained.”

“No,” replied Trevor firmly, shifting over to press his arm against Adrian’s and to tangle their fingers together.

In the distance a fresh fire broke out to Sypha’s woops of glee.

“I didn’t know it was possible to be this happy. Or that it would be granted to me,” Trevor said quietly, staring at the fire.

“Likewise,” replied Adrian.

Their fingers tightened and with a firm grip on each other, they watched the fields burn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it. Thanks for reading!


End file.
